Senseless
by Sweetest Days
Summary: A new version to my old fic Sing Me Breathless, featuring Hannah Shardae and Gregory Cobriana. Separate, Hannah will only ever be a hawk under her mothers thumb. But with a serpiente, she just may be able to find peace for two warring species. Better summary to come!
1. Chapter 1

Author note: Okay, so a little info before we go on. This here, Senseless, is in fact a remake of my very first fiction on this site. The title is 'Sing Me Breathless', it has five chapters and is incomplete. It was in fact a ZaneXOC, one of many differences I'm sure you will notice.

It is embarrassing, but I must say I am somewhat ashamed of SMB as an author. But I am also nostalgic for it because it was my first endeavor. Therefore, I'm remaking it, meaning I am taking parts and using them for 'Senseless'.

So, here's hoping you all enjoy this. See you all at the bottom!

Disclaimer: I own the story, Hannah, this version of Gregory though not the character himself.

Chapter start

It was a depressing sight.

Corpses, the dead bodies of war, were still cooling in the light sunshine. It was quiet in the clearing, beyond the calls of a few crows that had found the feast of flesh. Soon, even bigger predators would flow in, drawn to the scent of blood and carnage.

Lightly a golden hawk drifted in an air current. Her sharp gaze hunted the battlefield below her, ignoring the nausea in the pit of her stomach. With a flick to her wings, tucking them, she dived lightly. When she neared the grass, she released a shriek at some crows, which fluttered into the air. Before they could decide to do battle, the hawk landed.

Under the sight of something so obviously not of their world, the crows scattered, rising up in a cloud. They called warnings to each other, watched by the calm gaze of Hannah Shardae.

Swallowing a lump in her throat, she knelt down by her chosen corpse. Her hand reached out and slender fingers brushed through light golden brown locks, a mirror of her own long hair, left down with clips holding it.

This was an irrefutable truth. Xavier Shardae was dead. In her sixteen years, he was simply many in a long line. The call of war, the everyday pull of it, had turned her blood to ice, as it did every Avian. Though she felt the pain of another sibling lost, no tear even hinted at rising anymore.

She blinked briefly, her eyes casting about. Some of the soldiers she recognized, a flight of ravens. Their bodies littered the ground, along with serpiente dead. The hot avian blood was mixing with the cool blood of serpents, making a fowl stench. It was horrid, but she knew it would stay in her nostrils for days.

For something so nasty, she wondered why the mixture wasn't a deadly fertilizer. With having seen so much death, the clearing should have become just as dead as the bodies.

"Trapped rays of sunshine… you remember, don't you Xavier?" Her voice was barely above a whisper. Her fingers continued to stroke through her little brother's hair, ignoring the coolness of his forehead.

It was something she and her Alistair had once told the boy, that the gold in their hair and naturally tanned skin were the suns gift, trapped within them. There would be no such tales from her lips anymore. Slowly her brother had warped into a soldier, with little time for his family. Her Alistair had died when she was fifthteen, defending her sister Danica from a serpent who had not been quite dead when the elder hawk visited the fields. Hannah found herself unable to tell tales anymore without being a little bitter.

That had been the end of those adventures for Danica, Nacola swiftly putting her foot down. She would not lose her heir again. Of course, Hannah was not counted.

Oh, Nacola loved her, in a way, the only way a monarch could. However, she wasn't as vested in Hannah, she let her have more freedom. The young hawk took it, going so far as to leave without her guards. In general, they caught up, eventually.

While her thoughts drifted, she finally heard a cry of strangled pain. Her head tilted, curiosity breaking into her brain. When it came, again she looked at her brother. She couldn't do anything for him now. Though perhaps she could help another.

She followed the cry into a part of shadowed woods. The scent of blood mixed thick with mud there. Her feet sunk as she moved, making her sigh in some vexation. Finally, she found her survivor.

It was a man, thicker of build then an Avian, thinly muscled along his body. He had evidently tried to rise, judging by the shifted mud around him, and fallen back, emitting his pain.

Hannah felt a small shift of fear. Swiftly, she catalogued his injuries with a cold sharpness that would make her mother proud. Minor cuts, here and there, caused blood to dapple his skin. It was the slash in his stomach that held her attention; that was something he might not heal from.

His eyes opened suddenly and Hannah took a step back. Garnet eyes blazed at her.

"Well, Hawk?" He spat the name as though it was insulting. "Have you come to finish me off?"

Ah, of course. He recognized her by hair and skin, as surely as his own eyes gave him away.

Hannah knew killing him would be correct. It would be expected. He obviously thought as much, his eyes almost daring her to make a move. With how much tension was in his broken body she bet he was waiting to see if he could take her with him.

"Don't be ridiculous," she said finally. "Serpents may believe in mercy killings, but not one dealt by my family."

The cobra smirked, tilting his head in acknowledgment to her words. His eyes closed again as he reclined back, not caring his head sunk into the mud slightly. He truly was filthy lying there.

"This might hurt," Hannah announced, making a decision.

"Decided to kill me?"

She ignored the barb in the words, kneeling above his head. Trying to be gentle, but swift, she lifted him by his shoulders. It wasn't graceful, for she had never done such a thing, and the cobra hissed as she stretched his wound. After a mishap of nearly dropping his heavy body, and some quick shuffling on her knees, she had her desired effect.

His back pressed into her knees while she supported his head in the cradle of her arms. His skin was cool, and a part of her marveled at the difference as it sapped her own warmth into it.

Just as she had done for her brother, she brushed sweaty hair from his clammy forehead. Hannah didn't allow herself to think as she pulled a canteen from her side, shifting him so he could drink.

He swallowed the first sip greedily then seemed to grimace. A bit spilled down his throat as he gagged. They both could hear the breath rattling in his lungs. "What is that?"

Hannah lifted her brows. "It's cider."

"It's damned disgusting."

"Forgive me," she said. "But the only blood around here for you to drink is that cooling on the grass, unless you fancy trying to suck it from the mud. If you go for mine I'll drop you headfirst into that mud."

He chuckled briefly before the pain stopped him. His hand pressed into his stomach briefly before she swatted it away, admonishing him not to touch it.

"A wound like this… will kill slowly," he muttered tiredly. "Why are you staying?"

"I…"

"I killed… many of your people this day."

Hannah bristled a bit. "Are you proud of that fact?"

"Fairly indifferent, actually."

"This war is… senseless. Whether you died or not wouldn't make it stop, wouldn't make it continue. For me personally… I didn't want to be so cold as to ignore suffering, no matter whose it was. I refuse to be."

"… Hmm… my name is Gregory Cobriana."

"Hannah Shardae."

She had guessed he couldn't be the great and terrible Zane Cobriana. Avians' whispered him to be a demon on the field, slaughtering indiscriminately whatever was in his path. Surely if she had held him, he would have killed her, perhaps with his gaze alone. While tales followed Gregory Cobriana as well, he wasn't as often on the battlefield. When he was, the result was devastating. Really, she should have killed him.

The sounds of horses alerted her, awhile later.

Gregory had dozed off or passed out in pain, listening to her hum lullabies from her people. He awoke when he felt the shift in atmosphere, the hawk holding him seeming to vanish. He knew she held him still, he could feel her warmth against his skin. He could see her face above his, golden eyes cast into the distance. But he could not sense her.

He also felt the presence of his brother, and a few guards approaching. He grunted lightly. It would seem death had failed to capture him again.

"You… should go."

Hannah looked at the serpent with a blank expression he longed to rip apart. The savagery of the emotion startled him. He wasn't one to mistreat a female, even a bird. He attributed it to the fact her guard was so obviously up, like the soldiers he killed. It was a response to the aloofness of her sudden mental absence, a trained reaction of his to kill when in the presence of Avian 'reserve'.

"I'll take my leave then," she said finally.

She shifted him off her and stood. Hesitation overtook her and she tsked, removing her cloak. He watched her in some confusion as she folded it up, bending down again and lifting his head, slipping it under him.

"Thank you, hawk."

She smiled slightly. "I'm filthy because of you. You should be more than thankful."

And she was. Her pristine dress was littered with mud and blood, creating a look of a war goddess almost.

Before his eyes, she shifted into her other form. She was small and golden brown as a hawk, white feathers on her underbelly and chest. As she spread her wings and began to rise, he noted the dark tips on her feathers.

His brother reached him finally, drawing the reins tightly on his horse, dismounting. The quartet of guards drew rein as well, two launching off to aid their princes, while one drew his bow. Gregory saw the guard move, drawing back the arrow.

"Don't!" He spat the word, shooting upwards. The result was he hissed angrily, falling into Zane who caught and steadied him, hands already going to the worse wound.

The arrow was still released despite him startling the guard. Gregory watched it arc into the sky… and watched Hannah dive suddenly, plummeting to the ground before she drew upwards again, neatly dodging the arrow. Her hawks shriek echoed across the sky as she sailed away.

"A hawk with my brother… should I ask?" Zane had watched the hawk dodge as well before flicking his gaze to Gregory.

His younger brother grits his teeth. He had jostled his wound more than he thought, the pain now a persistent throb. "Not what you think," he said.

"Hmm…"

"She spared my life, Zane. May have even saved it… kept me from going into shock."

"If not for her kind," the guard who fired spat, "you wouldn't be injured at all, prince!"

Zane shook his head. "That's enough for now. For now, I'm just glad you're still alive, even if it is a hawk that gets my gratitude.

"Let's go home."

End chapter

Author note: Woo-hoo! The reason I have Gregory as the interest is because I can do whatever I want with him. He does not have a personality in the books so he's free reign! Eventually, I may do a ZaneXOC… who knows?

Well, please review! They are oxygen for the story. See you next time!


	2. Chapter 2

Author note: hello! I hope you people are ready for this.

Disclaimer: I own Hannah, I own the story… however, and I'm broke so I obviously didn't create the whole canon universe I'm playing in now.

Chapter start

"You look filthy."

Hannah felt a muscle in her cheek twitch. She bit into the soft flesh, hoping to stifle the groan of frustration that wanted to announce her annoyance.

This was a common thing for her avian counterparts to be saying the last few days. It had started with her returning to the keep in the dress she had worn when aiding her sworn enemy. Covered in blood and mud had not endeared herself to any of the sharp-tongued gossipers of the court.

After that day, Hannah immersed in the old texts and scrolls, housed in a lower level of the keep. It had been ages since she had been to the library. She had resisted the urge since the banishment of her old friend and tutor. Valene had been a truly kind soul, her banishment undeserved. Well, she supposed so at any rate, Nacola had never seen fit to explain the reasons behind it to Hannah. The others expressly ordered to tell her nothing.

Hannah brushed her finger across the parchment before her lightly, as though brushing away the memories as well. She leaned back slightly to view Andreios. He was standing at what Danica called 'battle-ready', hands clasped behind his back, legs set a measured distance apart for balance.

"Why this time," she asked.

Her new protector cleared his throat. He had been a dear friend of hers for years, but he had been her elder sister's guard. Yet now that Danica was poised to become Tuuli Thea with her Alistair, Vasili, things were again changing in the keep for everyone. Hannah wasn't sure what to make of it all. Until Danica conceived her first female child, Hannah herself would be heir to a throne she didn't want.

Her being heir meant being one-stepped closer to having the brunt of the war on her shoulders.

"You have smudges from the ink," Andreios said, "on your cheeks."

Hannah hummed. "I suppose I probably do. I'm reading over these texts, here."

It was an invitation for him to look as well. The raven took it, coming in to hover over the desk until she told him to sit. His eyes carefully scanned the words written in the old language. He then took in the parchment under her hand, her own translations.

"This has kept you busy lately." His comment was brief.

Hannah nodded. "A lot can be learned from the past. Besides, I find I understand books better than I do the people."

"Truly Valene's pupil," he said. It made Hannah smile, even though she wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or not.

"I'm not nearly as talented as she was. I prefer reading to actually taking the time to translate things out."

He cocked a brow at her. "Then what, may I ask, is all this?"

She laughed. He tilted his head, eyes scrunching together as though confused by her. "This here is supposedly written by Alasdair's brother. Valene was translating it before she left. I had an urge to try and finish it."

Andreios looked again and then back up. Hannah recognized the look in his eyes very well. "The old language isn't known. Valene was one of the few scholars that could translate it."

Hannah sighed. "I know. It was merely something to preoccupy my time. I have her journal on the letters, so it is possible… just slow and tedious."

He left it at that thankfully and didn't comment on the fact she stayed in the library until her mother sent for her. The messenger was a sparrow, seemingly a little nervous.

Andreios stood first, ever at the ready. Hannah rose slower. The ascended the stairs together, Hannah trying to ignore the interest of those gathering. Soon there was a crush of guards, making it difficult for them to get through.

Finally, she found the side of her sister and mother, immediately wishing she had not.

Nacola was eying her sharply, critically. It made her aware of the fact she had neglected to remove the smudged ink from her cheek, that she had it on her fingertips. Hannah cleared her throat, looking back at her mother as calmly as she could, folding her hands before her in a gesture of calmness.

"We seem to have a guest," the elder hawk finally announced. "This… woman… claims to come in peace."

Hannah glanced to the area her mother pointed, noticing that a woman sat there cross-legged. The woman had onyx black hair and pale skin. Her hand was flexing as though she was not sure what to do with it.

Somehow, the youngest hawk knew that when the shifter raised her eyes, she would see a garnet set of eyes.

"I do come in peace," the woman murmured. She looked at Hannah then, who shifted her gaze slightly so as not to be in direct contact with the eyes that seemed made of liquid heat. Hannah felt a chill as the woman's lips twitched. "My name is Irene Cobriana."

Danica cleared her throat when Hannah remained silent. It was enough of a reprimand. However, Hannah merely continued to be silent, dread creeping over her like clinging ivy. Finally, Danica spoke. "Hannah, Irene is the young sister to Zane Cobriana. Irene, may I kindly introduce my sister, Hannah Shardae?"

Irene smiled fully at this. "I know who she is."

She seemed to be unaware of the disquiet this had on the gathered Avians. Nacola sharpened her gaze while Danica stiffened, Vasili moving closer to his mate. Andreios shifted closer to Hannah as well.

Then that confirmed it. Irene was here, somehow, because of what she had done on the battlefield that day. Had Gregory Cobriana died and they were here to gain vengeance?

No, that was foolish. Irene was hardly dressed for attacking Hannah, in a low cut black dress that was highly inappropriate. Any weapon she had would have been taken upon arrival. And any natural weapons she tried to use would lead to her death by one of the four guards surrounding her.

Irene took a breath. "We want to garner peace, between us." Her eyes lowered to the ground. "We are tired of the fighting, and of all the useless killing."

Someone snorted behind the snake and all three hawk gazes turned to the crow. Though their gazes were not able to hypnotize as a serpent, it still was not pleasant having three golden sets on someone. Nacola's was frosty, Danica's tense, and Hannah's chiding.

Irene was saying something, mentioning the dead she had lost. The emotion in her voice, the anger, was somehow hypnotic all on its own. To Hannah, raised in a society where even laughing in public was taboo, it was odd.

It wasn't until Nacola had questioned the validity of a promise given by the cobra's kind that Hannah tensed again and focused.

Irene had again pinned her with her stare, this time too quickly for Hannah to shift her golden eyes away. "Gregory Cobriana nearly died two nights ago. His body is still very weak but he is recovering. He is only seventeen, he is normally not a fighter, and it is not what he wants. Yet we very nearly lost him to something he never took interest in doing anyway.

"He was saved by-"

Hannah didn't think. She shifted enough so the loose bracelet she wore slipped off her wrist and clattered to the floor. All eyes turned to her and she lowered her eyes appropriately. Andreios made a move as though he would pick it up but she beat him to it, lowering down to snag it.

It was then she raised just her eyes, allowing them to convey her plea not to say anything about who had spared Gregory Cobriana. Please, her eyes begged. Irene tilted her head when Hannah stood again, the bracelet slipping back onto her wrist.

"He was mercifully saved from death. But the threat was enough for us all." Hannah sighed in relief. "I have come here, without weapons, even without a guard. All I ask is that you hear my request."

Danica made a small noise, as though she had to pull her disbelief back inside. Hannah knew well her sisters thoughts on the serpent. The idea of one being tolerable, let alone blatantly taking risks to promote peace was unbelievable to her.

"And what is your request," Nacola asked carefully.

"We wish for a truce," Irene rushed out. "A truce between us, for a meeting between our leaders."

"And where would this meeting take place?" Nacola asked the question skeptically, brow arched.

"Before the Mistari Dio and Disa." Irene spoke almost reverently, and they all knew why.

The Mistari were an ancient tribe of tigers that had once resided in the land of Asia. The advancement of humans had driven them out, yet they maintained the grace of their ancestors, and the wisdom of all the generations before them. It was not unusual for desperate groups to request aid from them.

In the flurry of activity at the words, Hannah narrowed her eyes. Irene had shifted slightly, hand pressing to her lower stomach. The hawk would have assumed the snake was ill, if not for the tender smile that warred with the worried garnet eyes.

"Hannah?"

The sound of her name was enough to have her turning. Danica was beckoning her closer.

Danica sighed. "I think if there is any chance they are speaking true… then we should take it. Though, I do not trust them. I would do anything to end this war, however."

Nacola nodded briefly.

"What do you think," Nacola asked suddenly, stunning her youngest daughter.

In all her sixteen years, her opinion had never meant more than a grain of sand. Royalty she was, but she had never been meant to take the throne. Even with Danica being the new Tuuli Thea, and Hannah falling into the role of heir, it wasn't meant to be permanent, which she was grateful for. Hannah didn't have a desire to lead.

The fact that she didn't made this interesting. The Tuuli Thea council lay with the heir and the Royal Flight. Already, they were trying to pull her into the fold, making her slightly resentful.

"I…" Hannah sighed; Danica had said it all with her soft, yet not unemotional words. Why would Nacola think the younger sister thought any different? "I believe they would be beyond foolish to try anything before the tigers. Mistari lands are neutral territory. They aren't known for forgiveness of treachery, and react swiftly to it. Serpents aren't so foolish."

A sparrow Hannah recognized as Erica Silvermead snorted, eyes seeming to spit fire. It was obvious by her stance, the tight clutching of her stave; she was prepared to deal a deathblow should the cobra shift wrong. Hannah knew Andreios was proud of his newest member, though she found her hunger for the death of a woman unpleasant. Even a Cobriana.

Before Irene could make a snappy retort to the sparrow's derision, Hannah tilted her head. "Do you disagree with me, Erica? Do you think they are foolish creatures?"

Andreios stiffened, recognizing the thread of irritation in the youngest hawk. Danica did as well since she shook her head, but she remained silent.

Nacola looked irritated, but she would back her daughter. "Answer her, Silvermead."

The sparrow had the gall to look defiant. "Yes, I do."

Hannah narrowed her eyes though that was the only tell of her anger. Her entire language remained reserved, hands folded before her neatly still. Her voice though, dripped in mockery, a special talent gained by avian women.

"Then you must find us equally foolish, on a much worse scale."

"What?" Erica seemed to recognize the trap she had fallen into, eyes darting. "My lady, I-"

"After all, they are so foolish and yet, we are still at war with them." Hannah rolled her over, indifferent now to any apology the sparrow would make. She instead turned back to her mother, showing she was done.

Nacola cleared her throat. "Very well then, Irene. Please, let your… prince know we will meet him there."

Irene had placed her eyes on Hannah, though she turned to the Tuuli Thea when addressed. "Thank you, Nacola." She said it warmly, unaware the informality made many avian guards wince. "Zane wanted me to say he is willing to meet on whatever day suits you."

Nacola spoke quietly with Andreios this time. Then she spoke again. "In a fortnight. That is how long it will take to organize our people."

Things went swiftly from that point; Hannah using the fact there was a commotion with Irenes leaving the keep, to slip away.

She burst from the keep, delighting in the feel of the wind under her wings as she found a rising air current. Her freedom would soon be severely shortened. Until Danica gave birth to a female heir, Hannah was the next in line. It would mean an immediate arrangement of a new Alistair, and the beginning of watchful eyes in everything she said or did.

Hannah swallowed, unwilling to reconcile it. Varik had been a raven from the royal flight. He was more often than not silent, though when he had spoken it had been important. Hannah had known him her whole life, had grown used to sitting quietly with him, to reading while he sparred.

In their youths, Danica and Vasili, Hannah and Varik, had flown together joyfully. It was the one time they were all connected. When he had died, so too had her enthusiasm for most things. Hannah no longer enjoyed the company of a sister she could not recognize.

And she did not, under any circumstance, want a mate.

End chapter

Author note: Okay, so I am going to be doing some interesting things. Like an offbeat pairing for Zane. I wonder if anyone can guess whom I have in mind. I will give you a hint, she is an avian, that way Oliza will still be born the heir and have her issues with that. I hope you people participate, and please, leave a review!


	3. Chapter 3

Author note: okay so I know what I'm going to do in order to make the remaining books flow seamlessly into this. Yay.

Disclaimer: I own Hannah and this story.

Chapter start

The full import of just what Hannah had done didn't register until after she and four others had landed. Briefly, she wondered what she had done to offend her mother so much. For offending her mother or sister was the only reason, she could conceive of for sending just Hannah to represent the avian royal house.

The official reason was that Danica was to be named Tuuli Thea whiles these 'peace talks', often said with skepticism by her people, went on. None of the Avians believed the serpiente royalty truly meant for them to be successful. The royal flight was prepared for disaster, one of the flight generals had a plan of attack already outlined.

The flight had been long and, though the sights were something beautiful, Hannah had been unable to enjoy them. A horrific thunderstorm had put a rough damper on the flight, forcing them to the ground and to walking a few good miles.

Overall, it was with tremendous fatigue and a hideous case of nerves Hannah landed in the Mistari land. With her were members of the royal flight, hand picked by both Andreios and Danica. Andreios was there, along with Gerard and Karl. Erica, the little sparrow Hannah had publicly sharpened her claws on, was there as well, completing the required five members to the avian party.

It was, Hannah supposed, a lovely place. The whole of the camp had a very natural look to it, as though it were well lived in and cared for, yet didn't bother the natural inclination of the land around. Some of the buildings were carved into the boulders, while others were merely tents, covered with swirling colors.

It was in the center of the ring of boulders that they headed. It had been carefully hollowed out, with carvings of each Mistari leader, including the current head. It was truly a simple palace, the place where they held peace talks, and where the royal family slept.

When the tigers surrounded the group of five, Andreios stepped slightly in front of Hannah, shielding her. The natives relaxed a second later as they recognized the Avians.

One in particular stepped forward, smiling gently. "The Disa and Dio are waiting for you in the reception hall. The other party has already arrived."

Hannah couldn't help but send a slightly wry look at Andreios, who half shrugged, a small twitch to his lips the only indication he understood. After all, he had set the two-week period, mostly, and yet the serpiente had beaten them there.

The inside was breathtaking, fully capable of revealing how magnificent the Mistari truly were. The floor was made of polished black stone, the granite walls showing something Hannah wasn't sure of, but it was majestic none-the-less. The Mistari Disa and Dio were raised up on a colored dais, presiding over the hall with obvious confidence.

Hannah skimmed the serpiente while they followed their tiger guide to their own seats. She took in the two she suspected were guards, for they had the same casual attentiveness as Andreios and the Royal Flight. They both had white-blond hair and features that hinted of relation. Another woman wearing a burgundy dress with long black hair left loose glanced at the Avians, showing off startling sapphire eyes.

It was the final two Hannah looked at longest. Zane Cobriana looked simply like an older version of Gregory, with much more obvious muscle, his shirt pulled taut across his chest. His head was lowered, murmuring words to his younger brother, who was smirking lightly.

Gregory seemed fully healed. The black shirt he wore was a little looser than Zane's though, suggesting the skin beneath was tender to the touch of cloth still. Both of the princes were wearing pants that shimmered, making Hannah imagine a struggling snake being skinned alive.

Despite herself, she shuddered slightly, praying the pants were just satin or silk.

Andreios grasped her elbow, probably sensing her sudden disquiet, glaring at the two princes who had glanced over at them finally. Casually, the raven maneuvered so Hannah was blocked from all the serpiente across the hall, his hand comforting.

"Are you ill," he questioned quietly, helping her over the cushions to her seat.

Hannah shook her head. His concern was touching, making her offer a warm smile. "No, thank you. I was merely startled."

When she was seated, he released her, sitting beside her gracefully. It was a little closer than decorum demanded, close enough she would brush his shoulder with every movement, but she was grateful, drawing strength from his poise.

Gerard sat on her other side, Karl next to him. Erica next to Andreios. The effect was not lost on her. The two most experienced guards were flanking her directly, while the calmer one was beside Gerard, the one more likely to act out beside her flight leader to discourage it.

They were here to make peace with that startling, intimidating group? Hannah felt despair creep along her insides, her mouth going dry. Even from across the room the group of five was able to convey danger. It might have been her simpler, Hawk instinct telling her snakes were near triggering her nerves. Though she doubted it.

"Hannah, you are trembling." Andreios shifted closer to her so only she and her guards would hear. It was true enough.

She glanced into her lap to see a fine trembling in her clasped hands. They felt colder than usual. It was a trembling that only her guards would see however.

"I'm trying for calm," she murmured. "This is… not entirely how I imagined it."

"You have never seen so many gathered serpiente," Gerard said knowingly, making all her guards nod in acknowledgement.

"Still breathing," Karl whispered jokingly, "mores the pity."

It made a small smile of amusement creep up. "I've never wanted to do anything like this before. I never had to learn the things Danica did."

Andreios dared to take her hand, giving the fingers a firm squeeze of encouragement. "We are here to protect you. They have a different energy when they are still alive, as you have noticed. But they won't touch you."

"Of course they won't!" Erica was fierce in her words, her eyes blazing alarmingly as she glared at the group across the hall. "Let them try it…"

"Erica!" Hannah nodded her head, deciding that the sparrow wasn't trying to be rude, merely honest. "Thank you all."

Andreios smiled slightly as well, withdrawing his hand with another squeeze. "Just think, soon you will be back at the keep, and you can immerse yourself in your world of scholarly pursuits."

Finally, the Disa stood up and gestured for silence. Erica quieted down from her telling of living on the outskirts of the keep, what it was like. Hannah pulled her composure together along with the other Avians as they all focused on the tigress. Only their hearts and quiet breathing gave them away for being living.

"I know," the tigress began, "this will not be easy to do. Your two species have been at war so long, not a one of you even recalls how it truly began. It is more now simply to avenge dead, when there are simply too many to avenge."

The Dio stood as well. "Charis, you are the naga for your people, yes?"

The woman with sapphire eyes stirred. "Yes, but my Nag is dead. My son, Zane, is the Arami, our next Diente. You should address him."

The Dio nodded before turning to Hannah. "Which Hawk are you?"

"Hannah," she answered. "I am to be the next heir to the throne in a few days."

The Disa gave her a small smile. "How long for your sister then?"

Hannah hesitated, not sure how to explain. "It isn't like that. Danica is taking the throne early. Mother says it is time for youthful blood to lead our society."

"Hannah?" the Dio said sudden comprehension in his face. "The youngest Hawk daughter, isn't that right? Valene spoke warmly of you, when she visited years ago. Said you were a right little scholar-in-training, eager to learn anything from her. How is she?"

Gerard cleared his throat. Hannah glanced at Andreios before answering. "She was banished some time ago. None of us here know where she is."

The Dio frowned; this clearly bothered him. The Disa however nodded and asked about mates.

"Do either of you have a mate, Zane, Gregory?"

The two brothers shared a glance. Gregory was obviously a little teasing in the one he shot Zane, who grimaced slightly. "As of yet, no. It would be a death sentence on a woman in exchange for her love. Even if she were carrying a child, she would not be safe from death."

The Disa frowned this time, eyes a little sad as she caught the implication. "You sound as though there is a woman, though?"

Her gentle prodding stirred Zane, who looked hesitant. "It wouldn't be… conventional, in these times."

The Disa hummed thoughtfully, turning to Hannah. "And are one of these men here your Alistair?"

The question filtered through her guards, making them obviously uneasy. It was well known that her next Alistair would come from the Royal Flight, Danica and Nacola had both made that clear. And with Danica, it was obvious where her preference lay for her sister.

"No," Hannah answered cautiously. "My Alistair does his flying where I can't follow yet."

"Did you love him?" The Dio asked calmly.

This time even Hannah was made uncomfortable with the question. Only good manners stopped Andreios from intervening. Erica fidgeted; she would say something soon, if not steered away.

"I knew him my whole life, as a friend, a tutor. He was my confidant, and my betrothed. I would have trusted Varik with my life." It was obvious the way she sidestepped questions of love, garnering a look of disgust from Charis Cobriana and nods of approval from her guards.

"I see," the Dio murmured. "Danica is still with her Alistair? Meaning you is the only free one?"

Hannah startled at the oddness of the question. Zane had narrowed his eyes up at the tiger pair bond. "Y-yes," Hannah muttered.

"Very well," the Disa said regally. "However if both sides seem to desire peace, I see no reason you need us."

Gregory answered, after Zane nodded to him. "You are probably unaware but I make my home in Sha'Mehay. Therefore, I hear most of the gossip. Among the people, none truly believes the validity of the Avians wanting peace. They think this is but a clever ruse, that we'll be struck if we let our guard down. The ones that do believe cannot believe Zane wants to make peace."

Andreios spoke up next, knowing Hannah knew little about the soldiers in regards to war. "Danica has had her hands full keeping our own soldiers at bay these past few weeks. They believe much as the cobra claims his people believe. That this is a ruse, that we will be attacked."

"And, that is why the Tuuli Thea isn't here herself?" The Dio said with a knowing tone. "So her pair bond will be available to lead the charge, and she will remain relatively safe, avoiding the danger of traveling should this be a ploy?

"Callous, to use a child Hawk to protect them."

Andreios colored along with Gerard. Hannah curled her fingers tighter. Her voice was calm, with only faint steel underneath it. She had used the tone on Erica before.

"I must disagree. We are willing to hear any overtures of peace you may suggest, however, it would be foolish to trust blindly. We can't risk our whole royal house for what may amount to nothing more than a smoke-screen."

"And what would you, personally, do to see this war end?" The Disa said, eyes narrowed shrewdly. "Not as a logical Hawk, but as a woman, what would you give of yourself?"

Hannah did not hesitate. "Anything."

The Disa directed the question to the two cobra brothers. Gregory shrugged, tilting his head, while Zane breathed, "Everything."

"Very well," she intoned. "I will confer with my mate."

Andreios murmured, "You did well." Hannah smiled happily, unaware of a fiery gaze on her.

Finally, the tigers called for silence again. "We have conferred and have both agreed. Look at the walls around you. They are smooth and polished, because we made them so. When a crack appears we are quick to correct it, to bind it together."

The Dio cleared his throat, gesturing grandly. "Your people, your societies, are our wall. And we must bind them together, to make them whole again."

Andreios stilled beside Hannah while both the cobras looked alarmed. Hannah merely tilted her head, unable to understand the reference.

The Disa smiled. "In order to unite, we must first sacrifice. And the sacrifice must come from the agent we use to seal the crack. Hannah Shardae, as the only free Hawk in your line, takes a cobra for your Alistair. And likewise, Zane or Gregory, take the Hawk into your society, as a naga to one of you."

A punch to the stomach would have been less of a shock. Hannah heard the sudden uproar of the serpiente as though from miles away, unable to really register what they were saying. It wasn't until Erica and Karl had launched up, adding their own voices to the cacophony of sound, that Hannah returned to her senses. Gerard and Andreios grasped her elbow, pulling her to her feet.

"Erica, Karl!" Her voice held a sharpness that brought them both to heel. "We aren't going to shout as though we are barbarians."

"But milady-" Erica began but Hannah silenced her with a sharp flick of her wrist, calling for silence.

Hannah shared a look with Andreios. Then she turned to the Mistari lords, making her voice carry over the throng.

"And you truly believe such a reckless plan can end countless years of bloodshed? A simple union?"

Everyone in the hall looked at her. Erica geared up for another sharp protest, fists clenching, but Hannah again cut her off with a motion of her hand.

"You must forgive my guards. They are weary from travel and their nerves are a little frayed. I take full responsibility for any slight they may have caused you." Hannah bowed.

"My lady, no!" This was from Karl, who was this time brought up short by Gerard.

Andreios grasped her above the elbow, pulling her from her bow. His face was stern as he regarded the tigers. "As the commander of the Flight, I too, apologize for their rudeness. Hannah, I will make sure to reprimand them accordingly." He murmured the last to her, in an aside.

Hannah nodded in agreement before looking at the tigers again. "I don't believe an answer came up with in ten short minutes can be the grand solution. I don't think you have taken in the great differences between us as a society. It isn't merely bloodshed and war that keeps us separate. It is our very society of accepted norms and taboos. One look between us would show some of the differences.

Our clothes, the way we carry ourselves, the way we choose mates. Everything is opposite each other. The Avian society would never condone a hawk in the serpiente lands. It would cause my being branded a traitor and banished, if not killed for treason to the Tuuli Thea, and such would merely give the Avians more reason to fight."

"The Royal Flight wouldn't allow you to go either." Andreios was firm in his words.

The Dio chortled. "Ah, yes, the Royal Flight, bodyguards to the Shardae lines themselves. The fiercest avian has to offer. I had forgotten how much control you can exercise over your royal house."

Andreios inclined his head slightly to acknowledge the words. "It is the duty of my flight to insure the Shardae line is protected. Letting one go unescorted into serpiente territory would be a severe lapse in judgment worthy of losing my title."

The Disa merely shook her head sadly. "Hannah Shardae, you claimed you would give anything of yourself to see peace. How can you expect the people to believe you, to follow your royal line into it, if the two royal houses can't make sacrifices for each other?"

The words stung. Hannah turned away, brushing her golden hair behind her ear as a way to distract herself. Her gaze fell on the serpientes', once again lounging on their pillows, watching a hawk lose control. Golden eyes narrowed as she withdrew into her reserve. With a cocked brow, she watched Zane and Gregory shift, as though bothered by it. The guards were trained on her, whereas Charis simply looked wary.

"My lady," Gerard muttered to her, "they would plant a knife in your back at the first chance."

"How dare you imply such a thing?" Charis stood up again, directing angry words at Gerard.

The older raven scoffed. Before he could retort, probably causing a fight, Hannah stepped in again. "It took all of ten minutes to reach this decision of yours. I ask you to understand why it will take me longer to decide a response."

The Disa nodded in understanding. "It is a lot we ask of you all. I had foreseen the hesitancy on both royal houses parts, and had rooms prepared. If you wish, we will meet again tomorrow at sunset, to further discuss."

Hannah nodded, bowed politely again, and followed a tiger out of the hall.

When they reached the line of rooms meant to belong to the Avians, Hannah turned to Andreios. "Do you think this could work?"

Andreios busied himself checking the room over for any hidden threats. He paused at the window, drawing the curtains over it sharply. "Danica would not agree to it."

Hannah suppressed her irritation. "I asked if it could work, not if it would be allowed."

The raven finally turned to look at her and she saw a glimmer of resignation in his eyes. "You are considering it."

"Perhaps the cobra would be willing to live at the keep?"

Andreios snorted. "Doubtful. Especially if it is the Arami Zane. He couldn't leave his people. And as for the younger, I doubt he could be separated from his life there either.

"More to the point, Hannah, you know nothing of defending yourself. You're better suited to the courts intrigue and to healing a few soldiers after a battle. The children learn from you, every night, when you tell them stories. Would you give that up, to be naga to your enemy? To be killed at the first chance?"

Hannah sighed, looking at him under her lashes. "Danica wants to name you my Alistair."

Andreios shot her a look, because such things were generally not discussed between them. Hannah merely smiled. "It can't happen though, can it?"

Andreios sighed and brought her hand up to kiss the skin. She didn't feel anything, except for the warmth of friendship, and neither did he. "You know why."

"Yes."

It had happened when she was ten. She had snuck away after the banishment of Valene to cry in solitude. Tears had been forbidden to her, causing her mother to lock her up until she stopped. Yet every now and then, they would still come to the child hawk.

She had not cried that day however. Instead, she had been witness to Andreios shifting into the form of a peregrine falcon. He had been startled by her appearance and she had sworn never to tell a soul. In return, he had explained what had happened to the real 'Rei'.

It had afforded her hungry mind with a keen insight into the falcon way of life, since Andreios was willing to talk sparingly about the island he had once called home. She knew all about how half bloods were an abomination to them, and any child Andreios had would surely cause any woman he paired with and the child to be killed.

Any woman he loved would need to therefore accept a childless existence in exchange for being his pair bond. Hannah had little interest in children, but her personal preference didn't factor in because of who she was. A Shardae had to have children, end of discussion.

Andreios soon took his leave and Hannah snorted, changing for bed quickly. It had been a miracle the guard hadn't forced her home that very night. If the meeting tomorrow went similarly then… she feared they could wave goodbye to their peace.

End chapter

Author note: well, another one done! Please, review, and I will see you all next time!


	4. Chapter 4

Author note: Hi!

Disclaimer: I own Hannah and the story, not the books.

Chapter start

It was quite a while later that Hannah threw the covers off in disgust. Her feet hit the cool stone a second later, the nightgown she wore billowing as she moved forward to the window. She spun around upon opening the curtains, looking out at the full moon that hung high in the sky.

There was a particular restlessness in the air, as though something was about to burst. Hannah shook the silly notion away. Whatever it was, it was inside her. There was a shaky, undeveloped thing inside her skin, crawling through her limbs, making them incapable of being still, making her become agitated.

The rational part of her brain knew all she had to do was open her door. Andreios would undoubtedly be standing guard the whole night; he wouldn't trust someone else to his charges safety.

If she opened the door, he would be scandalized by the fact she wore only her sleepwear, ushering her back inside her room before anyone saw. Then he would bring her favorite honey lemon drink and, without looking at her, prod her for why she was awake.

Hannah brushed a hand through her hair, taking a few steps to the door. In the end, she merely touched the smoothed granite with her fingertips, feeling the glide along the pads. Then she crept quietly backwards.

With speed alien to her, she tore the sleepwear off, tucking it under the pillows. She pulled on the dress she had worn earlier, a lovely rust colored piece with golden veins of thread through it. The sandals were woodland brown.

For a split second, she hesitated. Common sense won out on her desire to hurl herself from the window. With quiet dignity, she opened the door to her room. Just as she suspected Andreios jumped to attention at the sight of her.

"What are you doing up?"

Hannah folded her hands before her. "I am going on a flight. I don't wish for guards."

"Hannah-"

"Please, Andreios. The Disa and Dio mentioned that they have guards all the way to the lake. I will not go past there, I promise. Please, I can't sleep yet."

He was quiet while he mulled it in his head. The tigers did have an extensive guard going through their territory, so the chances of a serpiente attacking Hannah and surviving were slim. He recognized the look in the golden eyes looking at him. They filled with stern determination and hesitancy, for if he said 'no', those eyes told him there was a backup plan.

Resigned, he nodded. "One hour. If you aren't back by then, I'll gather the guards, find you, and we'll all be going back to the keep."

Hannah beamed at him. "Thank you for understanding."

Andreios scoffed at her. "Understanding? I understand you'd crawl through the window, if you want something badly enough."

With glorious victory, Hannah shed her human form right then and there. Andreios was prepared for the fluttering hawk left behind, his arm already out for the talons. They gripped him lightly, the hawk making soft noises in its throat. As he went into the room and headed to the curtains, it preened on his arm, cleaning some of the tail feathers.

"One hour," he said again.

The hawk blinked at him before bending to nip his fingers with a mixture of affection and exasperation, before he tossed it from the window.

The night air was pleasantly cool. The hawk climbed the wind patterns joyfully. When she was far enough away, she released a shrieking cry into the air, pleased by the echo as she swept over canyons.

Feeling a bit daredevil, the hawk launched upwards again, only to fold her wings against her body. It was reminiscent of the last dive she had done, to avoid the serpiente arrow the day she had saved Gregory Cobriana.

Before she descended too far though, she unfurled her wings again, catching a current swiftly with years of practice. It was a move she never did when in the company of her guards, knowing their pension for panicking. She shrieked again into the night sky, finally feeling all the worry and odd emotion of the past few weeks drained away.

It had been far too long since she just… was. Too long since, she let all the expectations drain away from her, the ones placed by the court, her family, and even by herself.

The lake came into view and Hannah allowed her body to begin a descent. There was a log next to it, so she landed there, talons gripping naturally, curling around the wood. She did not change into her human form. That form had too many duties. As a hawk, she could be freedom itself.

It was a wonderful night. The moon shone its silver light down upon the black waters before her and lent a beauty to it. Something moved within those black depths, proven by the sound of the water rippling and the glide of something rather large on the surface. Crickets chirped and bats shrieked within the darkness of the forest behind her. An owl hooted.

Fear was alien to her in these times. Should anything attack her, such as the owl, transforming into a human would undoubtedly startle the natural creature. Her heightened senses would warn her if anything big like a coyote set sight against her, and she would flee.

The hawk warbled lowly, bending down to pluck at the feathers, preening. Talons shifted minutely against the wood, pulling off slivers and shards of it.

It was roughly ten minutes later, she felt the presence of her enemy. Nature dictated she be still until it was known if they had spotted her. She refused to act until the slim legs covered by shining material blocked her frontal vision. Gregory Cobriana.

He had his head cocked to the side, hand resting casually on his hip as he surveyed her. When her feathers ruffled, he raised his brows.

"You know," he said conversationally, "if I wasn't looking right at you, it would be almost like you didn't exist."

Hannah cocked her head. He took it as a sign of 'continue'. "I don't expect you to understand, and I can't really explain. Your reserve really cloaks you, is simplest I guess."

The hawk made a clicking noise with its beak. Gregory stepped closer and Hannah debated biting him if he came close enough to. It was just eerie, even to the hawk form, how liquid the cobra was, as though he heard a different tune than all those around him and moved according to it. She doubted Gregory Cobriana ever did anything without grace. Well, she amended, except when he was injured and in her lap.

"Fascinating as this is…" Gregory knelt and used his finger to tap her on the beak. "I want to speak to the human hiding. She and I have unfinished business." Another tap.

Hannah gave him a reproachful look. Her beak snapped mere inches from his finger but he was too fast for her. He curled the hand under his chin, smirking at her.

Inwardly she sighed. Outwardly, she warbled irritably before shifting. Gregory didn't move back when she did, with the result he was able to use her lap to rest his arms on, which he did. Hannah swatted at him but it didn't seem to have any affect.

"Be still," he muttered. "I'm not going to hurt you."

It would be rude to push him, she thought. "What is it you want?"

Gregory hummed, eyes closed. It was a gesture, she thought, to hide her eyes from him. Perhaps he knew they made her nervous, the ability he had to mesmerize with a glance.

"You saved my life. Otherwise, Zane would probably not have offered this peace treaty. He would have killed your sister."

Hannah cocked her head to the side. "Danica rarely leaves the keep now. Mother won't let her, now she is so close to being Tuuli Thea."

"It wouldn't have mattered." Gregory shrugged. "Zane knows how to get into the keep. He has described both your bedrooms to Irene and me. Or at least, how they looked a while ago."

As though he were unaware of the ice he had sent chilling through her veins he continued. "Yours sounded perfectly Spartan. Just a bed, table, and your vanity covered in books, he said. Hardly normal for an heir, whereas your sister seems to have a fondness for Chinese imports."

"I… am only heir until Danica has a daughter. How do you get in the keep?"

Hannah was horrified; the royal flight would be as well, once she told Andreios.

Gregory shrugged. "Zane knows. I was never interested in finding out how. He said you slept with a pillow tight to your chest. Your sister sleeps with a knife peeking from her pillow. That alone says how differently your mother raised you two. Though, neither of you lock your doors."

Hannah blinked at the cobra owlishly. She would be now. His eyes opened, catching hers before she could react. As though in a trance, she found herself murmuring. "I was the third daughter. Unlike Danica and our elder sister, I wasn't supposed to be more than someone to fortify our bloodline. Varik understood that so he didn't bother teaching me about the war, beyond the politics. He encouraged me to follow what I wanted, and I found that in Valene, who was a scholar."

"I know Valene," he said with some cheer. "She came to the serpiente lands a few years back. Visited about three years ago, too."

Hannah smiled. "She was banished for 'visiting' your lands the first time."

Gregory smiled, blinking. With that simple loss of connection, Hannah found herself gasping. "How dare you," she spat angrily, making to rise.

Gregory chuckled, casually grabbing her arm to prevent her from doing so. "Calm down. You wouldn't have told me anything had I just asked."

Hannah glared balefully. "Has it never crossed your mind to earn someone's trust before you use your tricks?"

"Hmm. What do you think of the solution set by the Disa and Dio?"

"Stop trying to catch my gaze, cobra, I won't be fooled twice." Hannah spat. "I think it…"

"Would it work," Gregory pressed.

"Anything is possible," she said cautiously.

Gregory seemed to relax slightly. "You are very beautiful, you know."

"What?" Hannah narrowed her eyes. His moods were shifting like quicksand it seemed. She couldn't keep up with his way of moving through conversation.

"For a hawk, I mean," he amended after a moment. "I would be hard pressed to find a serpiente with the shade of your hair, and your skin is lovely. Serpientes don't have tans, as you may have noticed. Your eyes, well, most serpientes would be horrified if their kids had them. It would lead to all sorts of sordid accusations."

"I'm afraid this conversation is getting too personal for me, Cobriana."

"Call me Gregory."

Hannah shifted slightly. "Why exactly did you seek me out? So far you haven't said anything worthwhile."

"That's rude," Gregory said. "I've said a lot."

"Very little," Hannah rejoined.

Gregory grinned lightly. He moved swifter then lightning across the sky. Hannah fell backward, opening her mouth to cry out in alarm. Long arms caught her, wrapping like rope around her lower back, hauling her upward instead. She was on her feet in a second.

"Let me go!"

The serpiente holding her merely shook his head. "You weigh nothing. Don't you birds ever eat?"

"Cobra, this is highly inappropriate." Hannah tried to recoil from him but the arms held her fast.

In all her life, the only time Hannah allowed someone to embrace her, was when Varik comforted her as a child. He had done so with hesitation, unsure how to complete the task. And Valene had patted her head in affection a few times.

The way Gregory did it suggested he wasn't vested in it. His face certainly didn't seem enthralled with the task he had set himself.

"I confess I don't care for you," Gregory said, and his voice held some dislike in it, now.

"I saved your life," Hannah said coldly.

He nodded, but his eyes narrowed. "Yes, you did. Foolish mistake, and I was shocked to find a Hawk so naïve. Nevertheless, if not for that, you would be the new leader of the Avians and your sister would be dead. And we wouldn't be here, talking peace."

Hannah felt a chill at the certainty in his words. She repressed the shudder, keeping her tone stern. "So, are you going to try and kill me now? It would certainly end these talks you find so abhorrent."

His laugh was bitter. "I don't find peace abhorrent. I find the suggested way to attain it so. Zane intends to ask you to be his Naga."

Hannah stilled. "Why so ridiculous?"

Gregory dropped the hold he had on her and Hannah took advantage. She was an appropriate distance away within a few seconds, far enough away to shift and flee if necessary.

The cobra crossed his arms, looking for the entire world as if she forced him to swallow acid. "Zane is… he is my leader, true, but before that he is my brother. The woman he wants to court is one beyond his reach. So I hardly want him further miserable by a false naga.

"And the politics of it are glaringly obvious. You, yourself, said this could end to your banishment. Then what we would have is a hawk married to our leader, who will then have to slaughter her family. Their children would be mixed. Zane is beloved by our people, and I don't doubt they would love his children. However, would they allow a half-blood to rule? Doubtful."

And if she took Zane as her Alistair, and her people dismissed her for it, would she be able to resist putting a dagger in his back? Would the war end, or would it continue despite the fact Danica would then be striking at her… people, by bonding? Moreover, would the serpientes keep her alive, when she had the golden visage of the enemy they needed destroyed for survival and revenge?

"So what do you suggest?" Hannah asked.

She eyed him warily. His words had the ring of sincerity; he believed what he said. He spoke with the cool, efficient manner of one used to thinking of his family first. He spoke as one with intimate knowledge of, not only his royal status, but also as one who traveled through his people and knew their hearts.

Gregory sighed and brushed a hand through his hair. Tendrils of it brushed into his face, hanging into his eyes at any given time. No Avian would ever have such a lofty style. Either most males had their hair close-cropped, or long enough to tie back neatly.

"I don't like you, hawk. It's nothing to do with you, specifically, just with what you represent. One good deed cannot change years of hate, though it would be nice. One good deed does not bring back the family your people have taken from me."

Hannah folded her hands in front of her. "We have to start somewhere."

Contrary to his voice, hers was almost empty. It was not cold, merely devoid of all emotion. Gregory tilted his head, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"True enough," he admitted. "I don't like you, but I would protect you. I owe you that much, to keep you safe, should you come into our courts. I am a Cobriana, but more than that, I am a member of the nest. I believe they would help keep you safe, if you were my naga."

The terms were unfamiliar to her, except the word 'naga'. "You are suggesting I take you as my Alistair rather than Zane?"

Gregory nodded. "Yes. It makes the most sense politically. It would be one thing if you were the leader of the Avians. However, you are not. Therefore, even though Zane is our Diente, I'm not positive a hawk would live long, by his side."

Her brow cocked as she spoke haughtily. "And what makes you so better able to protect me?"

"I'm banking on the nest and Aisha here. Though the guild swore allegiance to the Cobriana line, Sha'Mehay is separate from the regular populace. Even Zane cannot touch them. If they wanted, they could overthrow my family. If the dancers decide to protect you then you'll be safe."

A group of serpientes that could topple the family Hannah found terrifying and an epitome of strength? The idea seemed highly fanciful. However, Gregory was looking at her earnestly, no trace of doubt in his posture. She had one more question, then.

"I told the Disa and Dio I would give anything of myself to see peace. Zane said everything. What would you give? You didn't answer before."

Gregory turned from her, chuckling slightly. "I'm giving up my life and soul, isn't that obvious?"

Before Hannah could respond, formulate a question, he turned to her again. She automatically dodged his blood gaze, making him smirk. "Just answer. Will you become my naga, knowing I'll never love you, and everything I do is merely out of my duty as your nag, and to give peace to my society?"

A life of mere convenience. He outlined it perfectly. "And also, for you, doing so will free your brother for his real love? You'll give a lot for your family." Hannah hid the bite from her voice well.

Gregory smiled tauntingly. "I'll do anything for the family your kind hasn't killed yet. Even if I have to go to battle again to slaughter you, your sister, and your mother… this is the less bloody option, for us all."

Hannah couldn't stop the small chuckle. She felt the same way. If Danica was threatened, she would want to do all she could to kill the Cobriana line. What a pair they would make.

"Just so you know I'm doing this for Danica. And for the children." Her eyes glanced away, hazy. "No child should be sacrificed in battle to save a kingdom. What happens to me, in consequence… it matters little."

Gregory nodded, satisfied. "Good then, we understand each other. I suppose then, I will see you at sunset later. I'll let Zane know, too."

Hannah nodded. "Alright."

There was nothing more to say. The decision had been made. Gregory turned away from her again, casting his gaze out over the lake. Hannah shifted into her hawk. She was in such a hurry some feathers drifted to the ground in her wake.

As she rose up, her keen sight took in Gregory kneeling to pick one up, holding it as though it would bite. She could almost make out his gaze of disgust as he let it flutter back to the ground.

She was going to make that her Alistair. It had never occurred to her this would be her life. Secret plans to end the war, plans her sister could easily reject. A part of her longed to tell Andreios the whole thing so he would drag her back to the keep. Then it wouldn't really be her fault that these peace talks fell through, would it?

If that happened, the Disa and Dio would scandalize Danica, by the suggestion of sacrificing a hawk to a venomous snake. Her sister would be glad she had returned immediately, Nacola would perhaps be proud too. Hannah then could return to her books and the court. She would receive a new Alistair, one who was polite and the epitome of careful propriety. A raven or crow that had more sense of purpose than to tap her beak, use her lap as a stool, and to grab her forcefully, keeping her prisoned in their arms.

As for the threat of getting into the keep, those dirty, vile snakes! That was easily rectified. She would alert Andreios and Danica, and they would double the guards on the floor the Shardae family slept.

As the golden hawk flew, comforted by these thoughts, an image flickered into her brain. It was Danica as she had seen her a few weeks ago. The elder sister Hannah admired so much had been nervous and shaky. Nacola had just informed them of her intention to abdicate the throne for Danica.

Her sister had confessed, quietly, her desire for peace, no matter the cost, her conviction almost unseemly in its strength. She wanted to bear her children into the world without needing to know how to use a sword, if they were male. To give her heir a land of peace instead of blood. Both sisters had often wondered together how it had felt for Nacola to give her children, one by one, to the war.

Hannah wondered how it had felt for the Tuuli Thea to stand still while one by one she and her remaining two daughters watched body after body be given to the funeral pyre. She had seen the tired line of her mothers brow lately, heard the claim of her exhaustion and the loss of her ability to hope for peace.

Danica still had that hope and to a lesser degree so did Hannah. Would it fade if Danica took the throne only to watch the same dance of slaughter Nacola had?

Would a blade pierce Danica's heart, forcing Hannah into that role, and the added lash she'd had a chance to stop it all?

There was no way Hannah could refuse. Even if it cost the breath in her lungs and the beat of her heart.

End chapter

Author note: Next time is going to be through Gregory's point of view, I think. Hmm, thanks for reading, please review!


	5. Chapter 5

Author note: Hi!

Disclaimer: I own the story and Hannah. Yay!

Chapter start

Eyes were following him. He didn't even have to try to sense them in the surrounding woods. The tigers weren't making any effort to conceal their feelings from him, therefore Gregory didn't tense. The Cobriana remained calm on his horse, back held straight and eyes facing firmly forward.

The black gelding under him nickered softly, the sound of its footfalls familiar and somewhat comforting. The hawk would already be back to her room, perhaps burrowing under covers. Maybe even pacing madly as she realized what she had agreed to.

No, he countered in his head. Birds don't pace. That would imply worry and agitation, and birds' do not have any emotional range to them. Bodies without souls.

The slur came easily to his mind, an often-bandied remark among the serpiente markets. Dealing with the hawk had reinforced some things for him, whereas it had shaken others.

For the most of that conversation, she had been like any other bird. His sight told him she was there, the feel of her legs under his arms, told him she was there. However, his inner sense, the one that let him feel the tiger guards in their exact positions, had felt nothing but blank space. It had only found jolting stirs of feeling from her, mostly annoyance. And no small amount of fear, when he had held her in his arms.

Then she had faltered again, and hid her being behind that damned 'avian reserve' that struck his people blind when battling them.

Gregory tsked as he came up to the tents given to the serpiente. Casually, he dismounted, patting his horse's neck. He retrieved an apple from the saddlebag and offered it casually. This was his favorite beast of all the mounts, given to him by one long gone, but never forgotten. Never could be forgotten, if the throb of his heart didn't lie.

He never rode this one to battle. It would be too irksome a blow, if it fell.

Zane was lounging across three pillows, their mother Charis speaking.

"-Be hard to swallow, their Diente being with a bird-… Gregory, you're back!"

Charis rose from her position on her own pillow and beamed at him, her jeweled eyes sparkling in familiar warmth.

Zane raised a brow casually. "Did you have a fun ride?"

Gregory busied himself untying the _Melos_ scarf he always wore around his waist. "Illuminating," he allowed airily.

Zane didn't pry, or perhaps he could not. Charis had rounded on him again.

Gregory tuned them both out automatically. Chances were it was not any interest to him, what they were saying. He allowed his thoughts to venture outward without his direction.

His brain spun images of a jewel-eyed woman. Her features had been angular and sharp, strikingly beautiful and exotic to him. The battle-scarred skin had been like silk to his hands, uncaring about the scars lining it. Her grace had been different from his, the grace of a soldier rather than that of a royal or even a dancer.

Althea had been a captain of one of the battle battalions, her troop of serpiente consisting mostly of pythons, a few smattering of mambas. He had intended fully to have her as his pair bond. An avian sword had severed that dream effectively.

He now conjured the hawk, Hannah Shardae, his newest challenge, and future nightmare. That he could be happy with such a creature was a foreign idea to him that he didn't even consider. No, his best hope was for contentment. It might even be fun, at times, to rile her beyond her naïve view of things.

Her hair was long, and he knew against the nape of the neck those damnable feathers sprung unnaturally. And though she was beautiful, with what he had no doubt was creamy and unblemished skin, she was not desirable to him. He had not been lying at all when he said he did not like her.

The simple fact was she had spared his life. In lieu of that, he would keep her safe, at the least, while she lived with his people.

"If I take her as my naga…" Zane was saying and Gregory finally listened, flopping onto the pillows beside his brother.

"You would have to make the people believe you were truly madly in love with her, Zane, or else they would reject her," Charis pointed out. "And, in any case, there isn't any guarantee she'll agree to this. Frankly, I'm shocked her guard hasn't already dragged her back to their keep, they have such control over the royal family."

Gregory sighed, rolling to grab a pillow. He popped it behind his head. "If you refer to Hannah, she won't agree to be your naga."

Zane frowned. "How can you both be so certain? This is a way for there to be peace, peace I promised you all."

"Zane…" Charis looked saddened. Gregory shifted, also recalling the way Zane had pulled his family aside after Anjay's funeral, swearing an end to this war, and his refusal to let any more Cobra blood be lost to it.

"I swore to keep our remaining family intact, no matter the cost," Zane echoed his original promise.

Gregory cleared his throat. "I hope this does lead to peace for us, brother. However, Hannah isn't the ruler; her sister would need to be your naga for an automatic end."

"Having a hawk in our family would be a start, at the least."

"If she doesn't put a dagger in your back one night," Charis said.

Gregory couldn't help his snort of derision at the image. "She doesn't know how to use weapons of any sort. She'd be hard-pressed to take even a child serpiente out without any training."

"How would you know?"

"She told me. Apparently, she was low down in the line of succession; her only real purpose was to help her Tuuli Thea in the markets and deal with nobles, and to give birth to more hawks. Her Alistair was apparently keen to keep her away from the idea of battle, so encouraged her to take up a scholar's life away from court."

Both his mother and brother stared at him hard. "You… spoke with her, tonight?" Charis said.

Gregory nodded. "Yes, I met her at the lake. Like I said earlier, she won't agree to be your Naga, Zane."

"So she is against this idea of the Disa and Dio…" Charis murmured.

Zane shook his head, slight worry in his eyes. "Perhaps I could convince her. It is a lot, I know…. To ask her to give up her people and the keep, but… if this works then she could visit, I would hardly stop her from seeing family or friends."

"And if it doesn't work," Gregory asked, tucking his arms behind his head.

Zane hesitated. "Then, I would do my best, to make sure she was comfortable in her new life."

"Yes, comfortable… while we aimed to kill the family and people she wanted to protect." Gregory sighed. "And we would have a hawk on the throne, a young slip of a girl who would become a shining symbol, a visual target for all the discontented serpiente to strike out at. Moreover, your children, if she could warm her blood long enough to lay with you, would undoubtedly be rejected for rule, thus giving it over to Salem or me.

"No, brother, without a guarantee that this will bring peace to both sides, Hannah as your naga is ludicrous and dangerous." Gregory took a breath. "That's why she and I decided she would become mine instead."

Charis blinked owlishly, hands dropping into her lap. It was the look she had worn when he announced, quite joyfully, he would become a dancer, and therefore was not going to sleep in the royal chambers again. It had killed her and his father in a way, but they had accepted it with grace.

Zane however was frowning. "Of all people, you think I'd believe you suddenly fell in love with a hawk?"

"Not in love," Gregory corrected. "It makes sense though. I am a dancer, Zane. If I can make the nest believe I love her, then she will have a higher chance of surviving in our lands. And I doubt there would be any children."

Zane snorted while Charis looked pained. "So… you intend to live a loveless life, then?"

Gregory shifted his gaze away. "Hannah is a hawk, mother. We all know the serpiente prejudices against her kind, I'm sure she has a few from her market that would make her reluctant to invite me to bed."

Charis rose suddenly in a flurry of skirts. She turned from them furiously, hands swinging as she paced away. Zane and Gregory shared a look. It was rare, but Charis Cobriana had a temper fir to drive kings to madness.

She swung again to face them, hands on hips. "That is NOT the kind of love I meant, and damned well you know it! We are not birds, why can't you both see that. We are serpiente! More so, you two are cobras-"

Zane sighed and cleared his throat. Gregory winced; Charis was getting into her stride.

"-Serpiente do not take a nag or naga for anything less than love! The idea of a political union would be abhorrent to our people."

"We all agree I'll have to make myself look mad for the hawk. That won't be an issue." Gregory cut her off. "She is beautiful, and she saved my life. Many will believe I became infatuated then, and fell in love when meeting here. It isn't implausible."

Charis narrowed her sapphire eyes at him. "And the immense _difference_ between her and Althea won't be _noticeable_?"

Gregory recoiled as though bitten. Even Zane winced. Althea had been dead over a year, but it wasn't as though time would erase his feelings, as surely as it did her heartbeat.

"I won't talk about this," Gregory muttered. He resisted the urge to rise and pace, to yell like a belligerent child, fists curled tightly enough his fingers whitened.

"Gregory." Charis softened her voice, the sorrow and worry clouding her gaze.

"It's been decided," he said curtly, with the hint of frost. "So, unless you and Zane feel like dragging me home as though I were a child, I suggest we let it drop."

"I'll support you," Zane murmured. "If the sacrifice has to be made, I would rather I do it."

Gregory nodded. "I know you would. But you have a lover living, even if her child will not take the throne either. But if this works, you can take her as your naga, at least."

Zane sighed with true melancholia, aware that any child he had with his true love would be a mongrel, and therefore not allowed to rule the people. It would be a narrow line he was to walk either way, if he took the hawk or his sparrow beauty. Both would have advantages and disadvantages. He had to admit to his tired self though, that he would be more willing to fight the battle if it was with the woman he loved, not the one he took out of duty.

Charis knelt again, sighing. "I raised headstrong, stubborn boys. Your father would be proud and… I am, too. But I worry. And I have the right to, a mother's right-!" She snapped this out when Zane drew breath to console her. "And I also worry for the little hawk. She didn't start this war, and she never took any serpiente life. We know our ways, and we know a little of the Avians thanks to the spies Zane has.

"How will she fare, amidst all our colors and movement? A serpiente never sleeps alone, either, whereas an Avian always sleeps alone, even when mated. Eleanor tells me that a pair bond will have adjourning rooms only, and it is unseemly to be seen in any act of affection, even one so simple as the kissing of a cheek."

"So we prepare her," Gregory said, a little uneasy. He had yet to think about the real issues of adjusting Hannah into his life.

Charis arched a brow. "We prepare her to have everything she'd been raised with and for to be torn down and blindside her with our world?"

Zane sighed, waving a hand. "It'll all work out, it has to. We can all talk to the hawk… Hannah, tomorrow, with the Disa and Dio. We will be able to get better hold of the situation and give her any information she needs. For now, let's just get some sleep."

The two others nodded agreement. Charis kissed Gregory and Zane on the brow, before settling into her pillows. Zane took Gregory by his wrist and spoke softly.

"I would never have asked this of you…"

And Gregory smiled crookedly. "I know, you would have taken all the responsibility on yourself, sacrificed everything for everyone but yourself. Zane, my dear brother, you aren't alone in this. I'll do my part to see your desired peace."

Zane nodded, his fiery gaze lidded somewhat. "Thank you."

It wasn't long after that, that the three snakes slumbered, curled against each other and around pillows, content with the warmth of shared body heat and that with every shift they moved closer together, used to the feel and press of bodies around.

Across the valley two guards, a crow and a raven, stood before a closed door, murmuring to each other. Clear worry was in their tones, while their faces remained stoic. Andreios crossed his arms. His charge slept inside, Hannah Shardae. Gerard had come to relive him, though Andreios had no plans on moving from his post.

"Do you think it wise, us remaining here? Nacola would have already dragged Hannah back to the keeps safety." Gerard glanced across the way, where he knew the serpiente slept in tents. The Avians had been given a sturdy building to house in for the night.

Andreios was silent for a moment. He rarely let himself use it but he let his falcon senses drift, the swirl of magic even still easily at his fingertips. When he had been Sebastian, he wouldn't have hesitated to simply destroy the Cobriana line threatening him. Then again, also, if he were Sebastian still, the Cobriana would have merely been annoyances deemed unworthy of his attention.

He used his senses now to drift over Hannah, pulling seamlessly the image of her. She was curled tightly, sleeping in a ball almost. Buried under the comforters and blankets littering the mattress, only strands of her hair peeking out from under.

Unlike Danica, who suffered from lucid dreams and horrific nightmares, Hannah always had, except for brief times, slept mostly peacefully. This might have been through her emulation of Nacola, who was always able to sleep and had drilled the importance of it to her daughters.

He knew, however, that when her Alistair Varik had died, she had cried a week straight, hidden in her rooms or the library. Then, began her nightmares, keeping her awake, until Betsy, the Shardae doctor, had feared she would collapse soon. During that time, when she was lucid and moving among the courtly nobles, she had been in a daze, locked so tightly down nothing and nobody could penetrate her layers of casual stoicism and indifference.

It had taken both Andreios and Danica weeks to draw her from the cloak she used on herself, and even longer for her to sleep without crying out in fear and choked names on her tongue.

Andreios sighed. "I think we couldn't keep Hannah from these meetings now if we tried."

Gerard nodded acknowledgment. "She wants to see her world without war in it. It truly is something, how each generation of the Shardae line can remain so hopeful for the future."

Andreios cocked a brow. "You don't have any, then?"

Gerard blinked, looking away. "I have been a soldier my whole life. I lost both my children and a pair bond to this war. Their blood was given, so our side may win."

"Forgive me," Andreios said with apology. "How old were they, your children?"

But Gerard merely gave him a strange look, between grief and remembered feeling of uselessness. "You misunderstand me," Gerard said gruffly. "My pair bond died nobly, defending our lady from attack, only a year after we were together."

Knowledge flickered in the crow's eyes as he nodded in understanding. Gerard cleared his throat. "To be so cold as to take down a woman bearing children is… disgusting. I do not doubt there are some on our side who wouldn't do it, if it was a cobra's kin, but she was a simple sparrow. To be that cold is to be truly evil, to be beyond hope. I can't hope for peace, not if it means giving my lady over to such cruel hands."

Andreios shifted slightly. He knew Hannah, had grown up with her, effectively. She was an odd hawk. She knew about his true form and hadn't cared, had merely been interested from a scholar point of view, and then as a friends. She was determined to keep his secret, and therefore it had become closely guarded in her heart.

She wanted to be useful, with a quiet flame to prove herself that became shadowed when faced with Danica's outright presence.

If Hannah had determined she would go into the serpiente territory as a trade off for peace, then she would do so. Nothing short of a cage of irons and chains would stop her.

End chapter

Author note: Gaaah, trying to develop characters is annoying sometimes, yet I like the challenge. Ugh, I am going to kill myself. As you notice, perception of a character changes based on who is in POV at the time, and what and how things are revealed are based on that as well. Therefore, where Andreios sees a stubborn woman, Gregory instead sees a naïve girl who doesn't know what she gets into. (One he will still shamelessly use, might I add… humph.)

So at this point, Hannah wants to end the war because Danica does. She doesn't want her nieces and nephews to go through what they did as a family. Gregory wants to end the war for his people, but he is also skeptical of the ability to do so. That is why he is willing to step in over Zane and marry Hannah, so the blowout of not getting peace through the arranged marriage will be more manageable.


	6. Chapter 6

Author note: Hi! I hope you all are enjoying Senseless so far.

Disclaimer: I do not own the series but I own Hannah and this story.

Chapter start

Hannah called her guards in first thing. Andreios stood at the attention already, as she had guessed he would. Gerard arrived second, moving into position with easy aplomb. Erica and Karl trickled in last, both looking serious.

Andreios questioned them on it. Erica cast a look between the captain of the Royal Flight and Hannah, whereas Karl looked to the floor.

"We have heard," Erica began, "a rumor." Hannah stilled her hands tightening around each other.

"We heard that milady met up with one of the serpientes last night, and she agreed to…"

Hannah cleared her throat to pull attention to her. "Those aren't rumors. I did meet with the serpiente. What we discussed isn't your concern."

Andreios huffed out a deep breath. "I expected as much. You've thought it through, and everything that needs done now?"

Hannah glanced at Erica and Karl, both who looked flabbergasted. Karl was working his mouth open and closed. Erica was coming to faster, looking more and more like she was gearing up for a fight.

"Yes," the hawk said steadily. "I want to send you all back to the keep, to inform our Tuuli Thea what's happening."

Gerard shifted. "If Danica is not Tuuli Thea, it means we'll deal with Nacola. She will not stand for these continued peace talks, once she hears the first suggestion."

"My lady you can't be serious!" Erica broke out loudly. "They'll have their fangs in your neck the moment we leave!"

Hannah tilted her head. "I'm trying to give you all peace, so your children will be able to live without fear. I think it is worth a few risks."

She wouldn't hear anything else after that. Erica and Karl left once both Andreios and Gerard ordered them to. They both flew off in huffs, determined to return quickly so they could protect her. Gerard nodded formally before he too, shot from the window, leaving only Andreios and Hannah.

The falcon-crow in hiding looked at her seriously. "I know why you're sending us away. You agreed, didn't you? You'll become one of the serpientes royal houses."

"If I tell you straightforwardly, you'll make me leave."

"Of course I would! I don't want to have your blood carelessly spilled." Andreios looked affronted she would suggest it.

She merely chuckled. "I won't be at risk. The tigers will protect me, Andreios. I'll send word when I'm coming home, alright?" Then she smiled. "Tell Danica that once this is done, we'll have peace. Do not tell mother, if she is still Tuuli Thea. Tell only my sister once she is the leader."

Then she turned away, going to the window. She tilted her face upwards to feel the warmth of the hot sun against her skin. "Imagine it, will you? A world without war. I think a few sacrifices are worth that, are worth never having a child hold a sword again."

He left not long after. He knew stopping Hannah was useless. He merely prayed that this didn't earn her a painful death by the serpiente. He also hoped he would not need to look at her as an enemy, when they next met.

The hawk stepped alone into the reception hall, the worry and fear inside her heart invisible on her face.

The two cobra brothers, Zane and Gregory were there as well. The Disa chuckled lightly at this.

"For two species who claim to be so different, you both certainly think the same way."

Gregory surveyed his future mate. Her hair was done up in a braid that trailed down her shoulder, a light silver dress with a cloak tailored seamlessly along it. He viewed the way it covered all her skin, except the barest hint to the swell of her breasts. She would need a wardrobe once they were home. Something demure enough for her, so it would all have to be created afterwards.

"So, have you decided," the Disa prompted.

Hannah glimpsed at Gregory as he rose to his feet. The cobra advanced on her smoothly, taking his time. He probably thought it would sooth any nerves she had, though it did the opposite.

A serpiente could move slow as molasses and still launch into attack swiftly.

When he offered his hand, she studied it. The gesture was graceful in its action. His fingers were long and his palm showed the calluses common of a sword user. His skin was cooler than hers was, his fingers gripped her own with strength.

The Dio clapped his hands with enthusiasm. "Wonderful! And may I say you two make a striking duo."

Striking because it was never meant to be, Hannah thought savagely.

Zane came up next to them. Gregory had yet to release her hand, his eyes narrowed as he felt smooth skin against his.

"Thank you for this Hannah," Zane said feelingly. His eyes were earnest and filled with emotion. "Perhaps now my nephew will be born without bloodshed in his future."

After making a subtle bid to pull her hand back, she subsided. The emotion in his eyes was overwhelming; especially against her carefully blank features.

"I pray it is so."

Gregory dropped her hand as though it burned him, turning his eyes away as well. "How soon can we have this done?"

He addressed Zane, who gave him a slightly reproachful look. "It would be best if we announced it before the people."

"I have to introduce her to Aisha first." Gregory insisted.

Hannah tuned them out naturally, unwilling to be a participant in her doom. Her mind filled with disturbing images of fangs burying her neck, of a mob attacking her. The cobra family rising above these mobs of bloodthirsty killers, the fire of their eyes even worse somehow, burning her.

"-annah? Hannah!"

A gold eye snapped to meet Gregory who was frowning. He had his hand on her arm just above the elbow, grip tight as he shook her. When he had her attention, he smiled. "You were far away."

Hannah cleared her throat. "Did you need something?"

"We were wondering if you had a preference to when this was done."

"If… this is to work, my sister must be Tuuli Thea. She will listen quicker than Nacola, who will undoubtedly send for me immediately once she hears I've accepted this proposal."

The Disa frowned. "Surely she will be joyed that peace is to occur?"

"Perhaps if she was less bitter. She has lost three sisters, her Alistair, many of my own siblings. Even my guards agreed Nacola would never agree to this. She would sooner see a cobra kill me than become my Alistair."

"So, we bank on your sister being more open?' Zane asked.

"Danica is like you. She will do anything for peace. The war may continue, while Nacola is on the throne, but I have faith when Danica ascends, the fact I'm in Serpiente lands will make her end the war under peaceful terms."

"Then we're asking even more than I thought," Zane murmured. "We're asking you to give up your people until your sister is on the throne."

"And even then, there is no guarantee. How long," Gregory asked softly.

She balked under the sympathy in both their eyes. "Nacola intends to use this time to ready Danica for the throne. I don't know when she'll actually pass it over."

"We will keep you safe in our lands, Hannah, you must believe that," Zane pressed.

"I know what I am doing. It may be a long shot… but I don't want to ever have to see a field stained with blood again."

A few days later and Hannah wondered at the validity of her statement. The feathers at the nape of her neck were at permanent attention, her body unwilling to drop its tenseness. Gregory grimaced from across the room while Zane looked pained. The Disa and Dio were alternating between amusement and outright hilarity at the awkward show before them.

Originally, Gregory had been her partner in trying to get her used to the casual touches and mannerisms of the serpiente people. It wasn't until she had fallen over a stack of pillows avoiding his embrace the cobra had given up, throwing his hands in the air.

"You jumped out of nowhere!" Hannah argued, waving her hands irritably.

Gregory had been just as vexed. "That's the point! How are we supposed to look in love if you fall to the ground every time I come at you from the side? Or the front, for that matter," he added in disgust.

The Disa cleared her throat then. "Perhaps, a female would do better…?" at the least, she had made a valiant effort to hide the laughter in her voice.

And so now she worked with Charis while the cobra brothers watched. The elder woman had a naturally mothering persona to her, and a gentle manner when she regarded the hawk. She truly tried to be gentle as a breeze when she talked, using soft cooing words to lower Hannah's guard. It worked slightly until her arms made a move to hug the girl or her laughter boomed out too loudly.

The serpientes had known the differences between their people. They hadn't known it was so severe to this point. Hannah was an old hand at cloaking herself but her actions screamed her intolerance and fear of them.

It went beyond fear of their fangs and their eyes though. She was terrified of their very culture it seemed.

Charis' dress seemed to offend her, a low cut, short-sleeved masterpiece with shifting strands for a skirt, made of bright turquoise. When their laughter was too loud, Hannah would smile tightly in response. When they accidentally brushed her, she stiffened slightly. The serpiente took heart in the fact she reacted this way to the tigers moving around her too.

The lake had become a place of solace for her. She would trail her fingers through the water, sometimes singing softly to herself old lullabies and songs of her people, other times recalling memories of childhood, when this whole situation would have been alien.

She missed her guard, especially Andreios. Now she had no one to tell her fears to, no one to sit with who would understand the need for quiet. There were no Avians around her that could council her. She knew they must have reached the keep by now, and wondered how it went.

On this day, she was sitting near the lake. Her fingers splayed against the ground, feeling the prickle of the grass as it grazed her skin. She flattened her palm downwards to hear it crinkle and shift against the force Hannah exerted before she gripped, tugging some strands out.

She moved her palm close and examined the strands of sharp green. Oddly, and perhaps fancifully, she felt like the strands as she tossed them away into the water. She watched some of them glide seamlessly across the greenish blue. She paid closer attention to the ones that sunk due to dirt being clogged along the roots.

Yes, she was that grass, the dirt was the serpiente she dealt with. They wanted to shred every layer of dignity possessed, to disassociate her from her roots. Hannah was beginning to doubt she would ever be able to be in close contact with more than one serpiente at a time.

The hawk did not flinch when he moved his horse next to her. Gregory dismounted and whistled a simple tune.

"You seem to like the lake. I thought birds didn't swim?"

The weather had begun to chill again, making it necessary to bundle up more. Gregory was wearing robes of black, his usual silk pants stuffed into his boots. Hannah had also adhered to weather demands, donning a blue cloak Charis had forced on her. Most of Hannah's attire consisted of browns, whites, and occasionally black, things that suited the earth, with trailing sleeves and voluminous skirts.

It was the first time he had seen her in a brighter color and it somehow enhanced her. She tugged the hood over head; she used it amply to hide her face from him.

Gregory dug into the saddlebag a moment. He first removed an apple, smiling softly when the horse nickered in interest at the smell. Then he drew a leather bound journal from the bag. He fed the horse then went down the small incline where Hannah huddled.

He felt the familiar tenseness of the body next to him when he dropped to her side. They sat like that for a good while, neither speaking, both lost in thought. His fingers tapped out a staccato rhythm against the journal he placed in his lap.

"You've relaxed some," he murmured lightly. "Normally, you would have jolted away."

Hannah shifted. He really was closer than decorum allowed. She could feel every breath he took, every flex of his muscles from where he played with whatever was in his lap.

"I am trying," she said frostily after a moment. "I would like to see you try and stop all the casual touches you like, the loudness you favor, the frivolity of your people in exchange for the rigidness you claim of mine."

"I never said you weren't," he said too cheerfully. "I believe I underestimated you. You really are trying to understand my culture, whereas I haven't tried learning a thing about yours."

"What do you mean?"

Gregory shifted slightly to face her. She tracked the hand that drew closer, leaning slightly away but not climbing to her feet to cancel his touch. He smirked slightly as he brushed the hood from her face, allowing his fingers to ghost along her cheek when he did. Hannah felt the rush of chill along the newly exposed skin.

Gregory let his hand move to the nape of her neck, unsurprised by the fact the feathers had twitched at his nearness. Deliberately his fingers stroked one, absorbing the texture, resisting his frown.

"Like this," he said softly, dropping his voice. "A serpiente woman would already have leaned in, breathless, at the least curious for a taste."

Hannah swallowed, forcing herself to meet his gaze. It had been the only success she has had, the ability to look into those pits of blood for longer than brief seconds.

"You on the other hand show only contempt for the nearness." His voice turned a little pouty. "So tell me. How does an Avian court his lovely lady?"

"It isn't courting," she said. "An avian is betrothed-"

Gregory huffed, his hands now tangling in the hair she'd braided. "Yes, yes, I know. Betrothed before they can even walk, let alone understand any of the responsibility of it. Tell me, can they even wipe the drool from their own faces when they take the vows? And is it enough for them to resist pulling a pretty crows hair or stealing a kiss from a lovely hawk?"

Hannah shuddered from the scorn in his voice. She parted her lips to reply but he shushed her quickly. "No, actually don't tell me. I'd rather not hear about some poor boys heart being ripped from him by a chorus of the disapproving harpies I have no doubt infest your court."

The image flickered in her brain swiftly; as she thought about the ladies she parried verbal blows with daily when she was in the keep. Every word was a weapon, every misplaced hair cause for dissection to a few of them.

Undoubtedly, if a young boy dared to inflict anything but courteous behavior on a girl, he'd immediately be brought up to scorn, along with his parents and the girls parents as well.

The imagery he painted was vivid; Hannah giggled without thinking.

Gregory stilled when he heard it. It had been at least a week since they had begun this crazy adventure, and he realized now he had never heard the hawk laugh. The scorn in his heart softened lightly when he heard her, watched her cover her lips on instinct.

Her laughter was softer his people's laughter, not nearly loud enough to hear if they were in a crowded room. He also noted her feathers relaxed fully, the tenseness in her body not nearly so rigid afterwards.

"That was very rude," she said softly after a moment. It was escaping her notice his fingers remained in her hair.

Gregory grinned unabashedly. "Apparently it's also very accurate."

"So then, tell me, what form of affection is acceptable to your people?"

Her brow arched. "Outward displays are frowned upon. Kisses are limited to the back of a hand, even for pair bonds. A respectable distance must be employed at all times."

"Yes, but how does a male show his… appreciation." he chose the word delicately.

"By being devoted to her," Hannah said as though it were obvious. "An avian woman does not need some great declaration. Little things matter most."

Gregory huffed, resisting the urge to curse and throw his hands in the air. Instead, he moved his hand to the front of her throat, calmly caressing until he gripped her jaw.

"So, this would be frowned upon?"

"If not taken as a direct threat," she returned dryly.

"Cupping a woman's jaw is a threat to you?" Gregory groaned softly.

"To reputation at the least. An avian would never do so in public."

This was the calmest she had ever outwardly been in his presence. He was tempted to push this new luck, but recognized the drawback. If he made a move against her, she might close off even farther inside herself.

Gregory tutted as he drew back, lifting the journal. He also pulled his hand off her, using it to thump the cover loudly. "Sounds entirely boring." He said. "I hope at the least an Alistair may gift his naga with things."

Hannah cocked her head. "Gift?"

"Yes." He held out the book. He waited until she reached out hesitantly, grasping it with her hands. "The Disa let it slip you've been reading through some of their literature. I do not know your taste but Irene is fond of these poems. Maybe you will be, too."

"… Thank you."

Her words were filled with uncertainty, her hands deftly twirling the book as though it would bite her.

Gregory scoffed. "It won't bite and neither will we. Honestly, do not tell me even pair bonds don't give gifts. They're common enough in the serpiente court."

"No, no. it isn't that." Hannah sighed, unsure how to explain.

Varik had always given her little trinkets. A new cloak, a hand carved comb, a bouquet of flowers, little things like that. It was just that…

Her mouth parted briefly before she clamped it shut again, shaking her head. She finally managed to clear the odd reluctance from her throat. "It's acceptable, to give gifts… I just didn't expect anything from…"

The end to her sentence was obvious and Gregory snorted softly.

Later that night Hannah sat in a rather comfortable chair. The book lay braced by her fingers, her eyes skimming the crisp page. The poems mostly had to do with love, which she should have expected considering the giver. A few were about life and death, about the call to battle, and the rain of blood.

Despite the swing between sappy and sentimental to brutish and disturbing, Hannah found the overall thing pleasant. She was nearly three quarters finished when the knock came.

She rose up and swiftly tugged on a robe over her sleepwear. Charis smiled at her when she opened the door, taking advantage of the girl's startled look to bustle inside. Her sapphire eyes scanned the room and she beamed when she saw the book upon a table.

"So!" She said with some triumph. "So you like Gregory's little gift?"

Hannah dredged up a smile. "It's lovely. I'm nearly finished with it now."

Charis sent her a peculiar look. "Near finished?"

"Yes." Hannah raised a brow at the peculiar look. "I read often," she offered softly.

It was enough to dispel the look. Instead, a look of almost affection sprung forward. Charis moved a little closer and patted Hannah on the cheek. The hawk blinked but she didn't tense, and Charis smiled all the more warmly for it.

"So he was right. Zane suggested he give you perfume and I suggested maybe some pretty flowers. But Gregory insisted he knew exactly what to get, that you wouldn't care for perfume and flowers died."

Hannah glanced at the door. "So, you all told him to get me something?"

Charis merely shook her head. "No, it's something all males do, I'm afraid. My Nag was much the same as Gregory and Zane are when it comes to their women." Her voice lowered as though divulging a secret. "I personally think it's their way of telling others to back off. Serpiente are showy by nature."

Fingers trailed along the books spine as Hannah listened. She smiled lightly as Charis chuckled at the observation she revealed. "Being observant must also be a cobra talent."

Charis hummed softly. "Maybe, maybe. Gregory is… well, I love him dearly, but sometimes I don't even understand him."

After a few more brief pleasantries, the python sidled into a chair across from Hannah, who was setting out two cups of honey lemon. The remainder of a simple fare was on the table as well, a plate of grapes and some bread, along with jarred honey.

Charis eyes it critically. "Well, no wonder you're so peaky."

"Pardon?"

"Don't you ever eat? Gregory mentioned it to me, how easy you are to lift. He and Zane joked about it, wondered if you were missing some bones and muscles inside."

"That would hardly be possible." Hannah made a noise of disdain as she leaned back, sipping her drink.

"We all know it!" Charis agreed lightly. Then she leaned forward, worry darkening her brow. "That's… something I wanted to talk to you about."

So, they were finally getting around to it. Hannah set her cup down with a gentle clink and steepled her fingers together, resting her chin atop them. It wasn't so much she disliked Charis, or was even really still nervous about any of them.

She just could not yet let go her sense of right and wrong. The serpiente flew in the face of everything she had ever been taught. Noisy, quick to argue and quick to laugh, they were her antithesis. Calm and reserved, strong yet gentle, with firm grip on oneself at all times. That was her way. That was her people's way.

It was easier to let them think fear was her main motivator against them, lest she insult them. She was softening however, so perhaps it would be all right, given time.

Gold eyes flickered to the book. Softening, indeed.

"What is it you need to discuss," she asked softly.

Charis cleared her throat. She leaned back further, eyes roving over the features across hers, as though she would pluck the emotion she read there. If she were lucky to come across any.

"It's this whole thing, really. I confess, Hannah, I thought it wouldn't work. I couldn't dream of a hawk willingly becoming a naga to one of my sons. I was even less enthused when it was Gregory."

Hannah remained wisely silent when the words stopped flowing. They would start again soon enough.

And they did. They came in great waves now, as though a vein cut open inside Charis. All her fears, all her worries, all the motherly instinct that told her to keep Hannah away from her sons. From her family.

It was almost vile, the sheer emotion that spilled forth. Hannah stared openly, curiosity over riding everything else, even her own instincts, when the elder launched up and began pacing.

"It has nothing to do with you," the serpiente said suddenly. "You haven't done anything wrong, it is just…"

The hawk suddenly recalled words spoken to her by another serpiente. "It is just one good deed can't undo years of hatred." She offered the words now.

Charis looked at her, eyes wide, lips trembling with emotion. It practically oozed from her pores. Hannah tried a small smile, lifting an arm to gesture neatly back to the chair opposite her.

When the serpiente settled, again Hannah found her stride. She would treat Charis just as she would an avian woman. "Another cup? I can add some more honey, it's good for sleep."

The serpiente was looking at her as though she had sprouted two heads. "Why are you so calm," she breathed.

Hannah finished pouring the tea and looked from under her lashes at Charis. "I assure you I am not without fear." She simply knew it had a time and place.

Charis grasped her cup gingerly. "You're a natural lady aren't you?"

Hannah smiled. "Thank you. Credit goes to my mother on that."

"A serpiente never sleeps alone," Charis uttered. Here was where her voice dropped low, as though she had to squeeze it from her unwilling throat.

Hannah stilled. She already had her lips around the rim so she moistened them, more as a stall tactic. The drink she so favored was now as ashes on her tongue.

"You are asking me if I will sleep with Gregory, after I become his naga." Her voice had taken on a haughty chill to it, her eyebrows rising to convey slight astonishment at the audacity.

Charis grew stronger as a result, sensing the shift from the hawk. The play with words was over, now the hawk was engaging this as she did the ladies of the court.

"I don't mean carnally. What I mean is a serpiente always has others around him, from the cradle to his death. Gregory had his siblings growing up, and then when he joined Sha'Mehay the dancers served for companionship."

"I would not take him from his…" She flicked through her words, skipping paramours. That wasn't quite right, if she understood Charis. "Companions," she finally settled with.

"Oh? So you would be willing to sleep surrounded by other serpiente?" Charis all but snarled this now.

As a nightmare, maybe. Hannah wisely refrained from that sentence. Her nails lightly raked over the fine china. "Our sleeping arrangements are hardly any of your concern, Charis."

"Yes," the woman hissed, "they are. He is my son! I don't want him bound to a heartless, soulless _bird_."

While Charis was raising her voice, Hannah was rather growing calmer. Finally, she folded under her barriers, the walls carefully crafted over a lifetime going up.

Hannah tutted. "What Gregory and I decide to do concerns us. I am already giving up a great deal for this. I will keep in mind what you have said, however. Now I believe you need to leave."

"I-"

"What's going on in here?"

Charis jerked to her feet when the door swung open, both her sons and a few tiger guards coming in.

Hannah rose slower. "We were only having a small chat."

Gregory recoiled when he noticed the scene. Hannah was withdrawn, her eyes emptier than ever. On her face was a carefully sculpted look of polite disinterest, as though they discussed the weather. She was like the ghosts he fought on the battlefield, those moving bodies that showed no fear, no remorse… no heart.

It was hard to reconcile this to the woman he'd made laugh earlier, who had been softer and more open. The woman he had left confused, but pleased, by a simple book.

Zane had grasped Charis by the elbow, already leading her out. With a flick of her wrist, Hannah dismissed the tiger guards, leaving just the two of them.

This woman was imperious and regal, her eyes conveying nothing as she traced him over.

"I made it perfectly clear why I was doing this," she said witheringly. "I am not a child who will fall to your command, Gregory Cobriana."

"I never said you were," he retorted. "What happened? You seem… angry." He used to word hesitantly, unable to think of another reason she would close off.

Hannah shook her head. "Angry? No, never that. I can control my feelings, and put them where they belong."

A small jab and Gregory took it. Hannah's features became pinched. She spun from him, her hands making quick work of the braid in her hair, until the curtain was loose. She battered it off her shoulder, dropping regally into the chair before a mirror. Her hands grasped the brush and she tugged it mechanically through.

Her golden eyes met his garnet. "You were curious about avian culture earlier. Allow me to tell you something, something you can take back to your mother. Avians sleep alone. From their births and to their deaths. Rarely will even a pair bond sleep in the same room, let alone bed."

Gregory stiffened as he realized what this was about. He sighed, raking a hand through his hair. "Hannah, she meant nothing by it. She is a mother with concerns, surely you can…" he dropped off.

No, Hannah could not understand a mother being openly concerned about her children. It wasn't how she was raised, he thought bitterly. He looked at the beautiful woman before him now, matching her against the one from the lake, and drew fast conclusions.

Stifled. That was the word that came to mind then, that she was stifled emotionally of the things he would mentally starve without.

Finally, she closed her eyes, drawing in breath. "Forgive me, Gregory. I'm tired and…" I miss my home, she thought bleakly. "I'm simply not in my element. Can we talk tomorrow?"

Gregory quickly gave his consent, moving to the door gratefully. He hated being around that vacuum of emptiness. He disliked hearing the cold tones of an empty voice, the way even the warmth of her body and the sound of her heartbeat was stolen by the ghostly reserve she wore like skin.

End chapter

Author note: Leave a review please!


	7. Chapter 7

_**Author note:**_ Hello, there! I hope you didn't think I abandoned this. No, this fiction is kinda a personal vendetta against myself so… it shall be completed!

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I own this story, I own Hannah, I own this version of Gregory. That being said, I don't own the series. I make no profit.

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Chapter start

When Hannah was a child, young, so young she barely remembered more than snatches of colors and vaguest memory, she met Varik. It was during the time all children go through. The stage where they wander off, not understanding the dangers surrounding such an action or the panic sure to ensue.

Yes, Hannah was young. And all she really wanted was to see if she could fly yet. Her wings were not particularly strong, but she wanted to prove to herself she could be like her elder siblings and fly, with the same golden aplomb they did.

Nacola had been stern, only the sharpness of her tongue letting the guards know she was worried. By then, the whole market place was abuzz with activity and frantic yells for the missing hawk. Had she made it out of the keep?

It had been Varik's father, having been speaking to Nacola about the betrothal of their two children, who spotted the small hawkling. Hannah had managed to sneak away to the edge of the keep a floor above them and now prepared to jump. But she saw her mother down below her, looking big and stern and had instead cowered, pudgy hands grasping the lip of the edge.

Her mother had shouted at her to stay put, in the tone of voice all mothers had. And Hannah had meant to be good. Instead though, someone startled her from behind, swooping down to grab her. Their grip had not been quite tight enough, for Hannah had squeaked indignantly and her flailing caused them to release her… right over the edge.

As an adult, Hannah vaguely recalled the shouts of horror. She mostly recalled the sudden weight under her, the feeling of the air as it sliced neatly around her form. She could also vaguely recall the way the material she grasped was rough under her grip. Not too much else.

She recalled with the best clarity her first ever view of the man she would come to know as her Alistair. He was four years older than she was, so he already had full control of his wings and his demi-form.

His hair and wings both were dark as a night, paying true homage to his second form of a crow, even his eyes being dark pools of midnight. When he took note of the attention she gave his wings, after he had landed and unfurled them, he had cradled them closer. He did not seem to mind her running her fingers through them, and indeed, it became a habit of hers to do so, one she missed sometimes as an adult.

Nacola had been furious as she swept the young Hannah into her arms, her voice harsh and grating. Varik's father had been proud of his son. Varik had his eyes only on her however, the beginnings of the loyalty and devotion to her and her line that would be his eventual doom.

Hannah took notice of the tender smile on her lips as she prepared for the day. It had been several days since her 'argument' with Charis. Or, that was what the elder woman had deemed it in her apology.

Truly, Hannah felt just as guilty. When she recalled moments like that, from her childhood, it made her understand what any mother must go through. Of course Charis wouldn't find it ideal for her son, whom even Hannah could tell she was close with, to be unhappy in any way. It escaped the young hawks mind though how she could make him happy. This had never been about happiness for them.

But she had been truly shocked when Charis made a peace offering. It must have been obvious in her features because Gregory had snorted and called her dense. Zane had promptly smacked his brother upside the head and berated him, and Charis shook her head, her eyes rolling at the familiar bickering.

"It's what families do, dear. And we always apologize afterwards. Because we're family."

Hannah had wanted to deny such a claim, for she was no family to them. And their views on family didn't mesh with hers either. In avian society, small quarreling was everyday life. But then Charis hugged her and Hannah, for once, merely sighed and returned it tentatively.

The hawk had finally opened herself to the fact she couldn't afford to be standoffish with the serpiente, not if she wanted to keep her life. Gregory had made friendly overtures, despite his initial claim of hating her, and Zane had been kind and helpful in detailing what her role would be as Gregory's naga. Charis had truly seemed to begin looking at her as one of her children.

It made a few harsh truths open up for Hannah. Her family would never be so accepting of a serpiente. If she were to bring Gregory to the keep then they would need guards and to keep Nacola away. Vasili, Danica's Alistair, would probably be alright, so long as Hannah made certain not to leave the two males alone… and Danica… well, if she was Tuuli Thea she wouldn't be anywhere near a serpiente alone.

Gregory, she felt, would never receive so much free kindness and warmth from her hawk relatives, as she did from them all. His life would be one of harsh strain, if this worked out, and he would be under scorn by her family. The least she could do was try to be more open and accepting of his society.

The effort was obviously noticed and progress towards looking like a happy couple evolved swiftly. Her feathers remained stationary when one of the cobras passed her, casual touches didn't effect her as much.

Gregory had begun to spend time with her, taking time to learn the limits set by her culture. He didn't refer to his dislike of her, but she could see it flicker at times, when he played with her hair or tugged on a feather from the nape of her neck. Then he would sigh and seem to go far away, as though held by memories.

It was on one such day they both sat by the lake, the dark horse he favored grazing nearby. Fresh from her dream of Varik, she drew comparisons. Gregory, she concluded, was a sculptors dream. He had the pale skin of his people, and the bloody eyes of his bloodline. Yet he had nearly perfect features under the dark hair, face unmarred. Before his death, Varik had accumulated a horrible scar across his cheek, barely missing his left eye.

"You're staring."

Hannah blinked as she registered his voice. Gregory hadn't moved an inch, but his eyes were now focused on her. when she remained silent he huffed, closing his eyes as he dropped to his back in the grass. His arms cradled his head as he shifted to be comfortable.

"Though I suppose, if you stare enough, you'll look infatuated. And isn't that exactly what we wish?"

Hannah remained silent. This man next to her was to be her Alistair. All they waited on now was for word to arrive from her guards, on who was Tuuli Thea. Regardless, they would be joined. But knowing who ruled the Avians would let the serpiente know how to classify Hannah, and what story to weave on their people.

Gregory huffed again and shifted. "This isn't nearly as comfortable as last time..."

"What isn't," she asked for politeness sake. If her voice sounded dull, she forgave it. Pretending all the time was impossible, after all.

The cobra grumbled, ignoring her, looking as though he were slithering as he moved about. He jostled her, making Hannah frown, dusting the edge of her skirt; she didn't mind dirt but today seemed one of those days.

"Ah! I know what it is!" his cry was jubilant almost, and without further preamble he moved enough so he could drop his head into her lap.

It froze the young hawk, making her heart stutter. "What are you doing?"

Gregory seemed undisturbed by the rancor in her tone. "Last time I laid on the ground. I wasn't really comfortable until you came along and offered me your lap."

Hannah remained stiff. "That couldn't have been comfortable. I had no clue how to move you and your wound was too severe for anything to be 'comfortable'." She kept her tone blithe.

Gregory hummed briefly before he nestled deeper into her legs, making her flush almost. "True. You caused me unjust pain then, with all the shifting. Maybe then, it was the comforting. What was it you did, I wonder?"

Hannah had known him for some weeks now so she recognized this mood of his. He was in the mood to tease or to taunt, depending on her responses. Gregory was, at times, in a loquacious mood. One that led him to be cheerful and playful, even when his sense of play didn't amuse his newly intended target, mainly her. Others and more often, he was languid, still hinted playfulness and seemed to know too much about things he shouldn't. He learned Hannah because he had to in order to coexist with her, yet he did not intend to let her know the real him.

So, in this mood, she dictated if he would be simply a tease, or taunting to see how much he could work her over. She sighed; his taunting could be quite vengeful, if pushed too far.

"I stroked your hair," she said softly. "And I sang to you some old stories from the Keep."

"Hmm, yes. I do remember that. You have a nice voice; you must use it a lot."

Out of remembrance, or perhaps temptation, her fingers began to work through his hair again. It was soft between her fingers, and she found that, though it wasn't thick, it was nice to toy with. She watched the flicker in Gregory's eyes as he took notice of her new preoccupation, the way he seemed to close off momentarily. Briefly, she wondered if her touch was so abhorrent to him.

If so, then Charis really need not worry about their sleeping arrangements. Hannah was certain he would choose to leave her to her bedchambers, perhaps having paramours to adorn his sheets or remain in this 'nest' she kept hearing about.

It was probably childish and fanciful, but whenever he brought up Sha'Mehay and the nest, she imagined a big bird's nest, made out of feathers and soft grasses and pliable twigs. She admitted she was foolish when she also imagined snakes wriggling inside it.

Then his expression opened up and he smiled, perhaps a tad bit forced. Hannah cleared her throat. "In the market, many don't have time to watch their children. So, there was generally always someone there to entertain them, to sing to them or tell them stories. I found I had a talent for it and it kept me away from anything too political. Nacola… mother," she corrected, having quickly learned serpientes placed high value on family connection. "Mother couldn't say I didn't help in the market if I was there daily."

"There helping with the children. So, the royal avian family also participates in the market."

Hannah nodded. "Yes, daily. We try to stay involved in our people's lives."

"Then you won't be so shocked when we make the tour ourselves." And now his voice was cheerful. "I'm glad. At least in this you won't be some naïve little hawk."

"What do you mean?"

Gregory chuckled. "The Cobriana line also takes a great interest in their people. We spend a great time among them, and among the dancers for myself. I feared you would be some recluse."

She imagined it now. Her, among a large gathering of serpiente. Fear gnawed at her belly and made her pause her stroking motions. Gregory glanced up as he felt her shields forming. There was something she wanted to hide, and thus her face became like a statue.

He thought he knew it. Thinking thusly, he shifted back to his knees before her, his fingers quick to ghost over her cheek. He had decided days ago, when he had witnessed different sides of her, had heard her laughter for the first time. It had cemented in his brain when he saw how cold and invisible she could become to his senses when Charis had pushed her.

He had decided that he would make this hawk fall in love with him truly.

Otherwise, he reasoned with Zane who initially balked at the coldness of the idea, the plan would fail. Perhaps that would be okay, years from now, when and if peace were given to the serpiente people. Perhaps then, it would not matter if Gregory and Hannah let it be known they were not anything more than business partners, bargaining chips for the gem of peace.

But until then nobody could doubt that his or her love was genuine. Gregory could fake anything, he knew. However, Hannah, when offended would close off, and she wouldn't be willing to listen. Therefore, Gregory reasoned, he had to have her feelings be genuine. He thought the proud, emotionally stifled hawk would never admit it aloud, so felt safe playing this new game of seduction.

"Hannah, are you still so afraid of my people? They'll be yours, soon." Gregory clicked his tongue.

Hannah glanced at him sharply. "I am not afraid. Just…"

Gregory tugged her hair. "Do I frighten you, still? And Zane, and mother?"

"Hardly." Hannah scoffed, her barriers dropping again.

"Yet you doubt my words. Hannah, I promised to protect you while you were in serpiente lands. As did Zane. We will not allow harm to come to you. Can you trust me on that, at least?"

Her golden eyes met his and he noticed her swallow. "I don't doubt you. Merely, I doubt the understanding of someone who comes at me with a blade, when you or your brother is otherwise occupied."

Gregory was about to say something when he felt another presence. He shifted, recognizing the emptiness he felt on the battlefield, the void that surrounded an Avian. Hannah had noticed their guest as well, and Gregory found his jaw tightening. Her eyes, so indifferent to him, were now pools of excitement, contained under her training as a lady.

"Cole!" Her voice called gaily, a tone he had never heard. Relief was evident in her very being.

Gregory rose first then, offering her a hand. Hannah took it without hesitation, a thing Gregory noticed the man named Cole catalogued carefully before shifting attention solely to the hawk.

"My lady, I'm glad you are unharmed."

"And what harm could fall her in Mistari lands," Gregory asked sharply.

Cole turned his eyes to the serpiente before he dismissed him with his very arrogant posture. This bird was very confident in his skills. Gregory found he didn't like the way Cole sized him up, nor the way he looked at Hannah. There was more than loyalty to ones liege in those mahogany eyes.

"My lady I bring news from my commander and the Tuuli Thea."

Hannah felt her heart leap to her throat. Calmly, she stepped away from Gregory. "And what is it?"

Cole was in the soldiers' position, hands clasped behind his back. His mahogany eyes were firmly distant, but his mouth twitched at the corners. "My lady, I am here to inform you of the fact Danica Shardae will take the throne in a weeks time. As such, Lady Shardae wishes you to try to postpone these peace agreements to return home. Once there, she intends to announce your new Alistair."

She could feel Gregory bristling in the background. Charis had made the offhand comment that Cobra men seemed to be possessive and liked to show their claim to their females. She cleared her throat, and turned to him.

"Is that not wonderful news," she asked him calmly. "My sister will soon be Tuuli Thea. All will be well then, won't it?"

Dimly, she was aware that Cole was probably analyzing her every move and she tried to pass that on to Gregory. He had a disapproving look on his face, and she knew why. With the appearance of Cole, her shields had locked in place, her face a carefully crafted mask she knew he disliked.

"Wonderful," he echoed.

"My lady, if I may interrupt. I also have messages from your sister and the commander as well."

"Andreios?" Hannah tilted her head, giving her attention back to the raven before her.

"Yes, they are both similar. Your sister sends her love and her prayers that you are safe. Both the commander and she will be making a trip here, after your mother passes the throne. They both wish you to remain put here with the Serpiente."

"But why?" Hannah pressed, her brows creasing.

Cole finally smiled. "My lady, your sister has listened to Andreios. She has decided to come here, to see if your marriage to a cobra will be a viable option. She wishes me to inform you that, should she agree, she has certain conditions that must be conformed to, else she intends to drag you back by your pinfeathers.

"I, along with a few trusted guards, am to remain here with you until she arrives, to insure your safety."

Hannah felt the world drop from under her, and felt the sudden stiffness in Gregory. Both exchanged fleeting looks. This next move would either doom them… or be the dream they held dear.

End chapter

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 _ **Author note:**_ nothing to say. I seriously love Hannah! BTW the profile pic is the closest I could find to my vision of her. Hope you approve!


	8. Chapter 8

_**Author note:**_ thank you for the reviews, you three! They made me very happy. Here is the next chapter!

 _ **Disclaimer:** _ I don't own the Kiesha'ra series, just my OC's and this take on it.

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Chapter start

The week flew by for Hannah. With every day that drew closer, her nerves grew and so did her fears. And with these new worries, cropped up great annoyances for Gregory.

He had the great misfortune to see all his hard work go up in smoke. With the order from her sister came guards. A return of Gerard and Karl, and the remaining Cole, who obviously had more than simple devotion to Hannah. Obvious to him and Zane, at the least, though the Hawk seemed calmly oblivious.

Time Hannah originally spent with the serpiente was now given to her guards, who trailed her like shadows. The laughter and gaiety that the Serpiente had drawn out with painful effort was buried under constant control.

The final straw was because of a piece of lowly gossip. Gregory and Charis had been moving along together shopping. The Mistari lands were closed off in their mountain but they were just as rich and pleasing as the Serpiente when it came to their markets.

There were miles of the finest silks and satin, and the brightest colors to satisfy even the most churlish of women. Gregory already had his arms piled high with wanton colors Charis had purchased, and even a fine beaded necklace for Irene on their return home. Charis showed no sign of stopping soon. It made him laugh, even as his arms felt heavier with every added item. He possibly cursed Zane for weaving out of this little adventure by use of a headache.

The sight of a young woman's shapely legs distracted him as she danced. She was exotic as all the Mistari women were to him, her white hair telling him she was undoubtedly a white tiger, rare and precious in the wild yet common enough among her shifter kin. Her body was voluptuously toned, as dancers must be. Yet her moves were not ones employed by Serpiente women, more thrusting and stomping about, less technique.

A serpiente moved with feeling but flowed naturally, just as their wild counterparts.

She employed her hips wonderfully though and it was truly eye-catching. Especially when she caught his eye, and winked, her stare bold and yet aloof from him. An invitation layered by the Mistari tiger's pride. Gregory grinned at her, shuffling the items in his hand as an excuse. She returned the grin and spun away to the drums.

"Oh, this would be just darling!"

Gregory turned to Charis, realizing he had been distracted. Luckily, she had not noticed her son's wandering eye, or else she would have scolded.

"Gregory, don't you think Hannah would look fine in this color?" the python spun. In her hand were two different colors of ivory white and gold, both soft to the touch.

Gregory could not help the small twitch of his lips. "I think she has plenty of clothes, Mother."

Charis snorted. "And that is why, dear boy, you're a foolish male."

"Hey!" He responded with mock heat.

"Hannah can hardly bring everything with her when she comes to us. And it's customary to receive a new wardrobe when a girl bonds, it shows her advancement to everyone."

"It's a dress," he said dryly. "Not a bloody ring."

"Men," Charis muttered lightly. She tsked. "And currently, it is _fabric._ Not a dress."

The lighthearted bickering continued after the materials were packaged and added to his bundles. Charis surveyed the layers of packages her son carried and felt a flash of motherly pride in how fine he was.

Gregory was as handsome in looks as his father had been and Zane was. The emerald earrings he wore glistened in the sunlight. Gregory was a man who liked his jewels, after all, and always wore them, a necklace, and his long fingers were adorned with precious stones.

However, Charis had learned, with the wisdom that comes from age, it was personality that made someone radiant or ugly.

Gregory was a man of certain ambitions, most notably the desire to be free and himself. Well-loved by the Serpiente people for his wit and generosity, and seen as a man comfortable in his own skin. He had a sharp tongue on him and a towering temper and he could be cruel, but he would never be so without just cause.

Yes, she had raised a fine family. Both her remaining sons and daughter would give their last drop of blood for their people, and their sacrifice knew no bounds.

It was thusly thinking this she nearly missed the gossip. If not for the loud laugh, both she and Gregory would have stayed perhaps happily ignorant.

"- You don't mean-"

"Yes, the very one! He has the dreamiest eyes, and his hair matches to boot!"

The Lioness was no more than a cub really, dressed up in a yellow dress and pigtails. However, her brother and sister, and the customers surrounding them, were old enough to enjoy gossip.

"Are you sure, Sheena? I thought the hawk was being given to that serpiente?" The elder sister grasped her younger sister's arm lightly.

At the words, Gregory halted and he and Charis both sheltered to the side, away from the groups eyes but close enough to listen.

Sheena nodded happily. "Yep, sure I'm sure! He and that scary guard were talkin' bout it when I passed, bout how a serpiente was out of the question and surely the Tulip-tea-"

"Tuuli Thea," the brother corrected with boredom. The sisters both waved him off.

"Yes, yes, that! Well they said surely she'd come to her senses and take her sister home where someone named Cole and she could be bonded like proper!"

"What else," a customer demanded noisily.

Sheena shrugged. "Nothin' much. The scary guard reprimanded the littler one, and then they saw me. I couldn't listen anymore."

The elder sister chuckled. "Well, well, it would seem the war between the hawks and serpiente are going to continue for some time."

"You don't know that. Sasha, will you hush up?" The male finally piped up.

"Oh, but Marcus! You know as well as I do that if a crow wants a hawk, they get them! Moreover, I seen the three guards the hawk has. Royal Guard, every one of them!"

Marcus scoffed. "This was never about the Royal Flight and their possible hurt feelings. If a simple bonding ends the war, then I doubt anyone's being dumb enough to refuse cause of a more typical match-up!"

But Sheena and Sasha both waved their hands in dismissal again. "Whatever. Fact is, if the hawk changes her mind, everyone knows the Serpiente would be helpless to stop her from getting safely back to the keep."

"And she hasn't spent _any_ time with them since her guards showed up," a customer said loudly.

"I heard that she is being courted by one of the guards pretty heavily!" Another added gleefully.

The grown lion finally growled, just as Gregory himself felt like snapping. Only Charis' hand on his arm kept him from tensing too badly.

"Alright, is my stall a damned tavern, or is it a place of respectable business? If you are not buyin' somethin' get out, and if you are get it, pay, and get out! Go on, get!"

The crowd of customers dispersed quickly when he released a low roar, and then he chuckled. "Cowards. And you two, encouragin' that talk! It is a fools thought, and you shouldn't be happy about the fact these peace talks could fall to shambles."

"Daddy says war is good for business," Sheena put in with a pout.

Marcus shook his head. "For business only and it's a damned shame if you count a healthy profit at the cost of blood and lives. Not to mention it causes roadblocks, and people are tighter with their coin. Prices rise for us as well, during war."

Charis had heard more than enough. She heaved a sigh and gave Gregory a casual glance.

He was leaning nonchalantly against the side of the covered wagon housing the lion family, his whole body language lax and uncaring. His hair had fallen into his face a little, but she could see his eyes from this position. They were blank and dull, a sure sign he was thinking hard to himself.

Charis sighed again and patted his upper arm to get his attention. He grinned as soon as he registered her, and it was somewhat annoying how quick he could hide. A true snake indeed.

When they returned to their tents, he dropped the bundle of things on the portable table and began tearing through them quickly. Charis yelped when a hat smacked her in the back of the head. She grumbled as she plopped down in a chair, knowing scolding would not do any good currently.

Zane was huddled comfortably in the center of a bed of pillows, lounging indolently with his head upside down. He yawned tiredly. When a bunch of fabric was tossed at him, he caught it one-handed, feeling the soft texture and humming a bit. It might be comfortable to add to his bed, once Gregory did whatever he was doing.

"Don't you dare, Zane. I'm going to commission a new wardrobe for Hannah once we're back in our lands and I need all the fabric I have." Charis had a gleam in her eyes.

Zane chuckled. "How do you always know?"

"I'm a mother, Zane, and I'm also the one who scolded you both when you stole all the linen for a sheet fort in your nursery."

Zane laughed a little more and then titled his head to Gregory. "So, what brought this on?"

"Possessive instinct," Charis said idly.

Zane perked up, a brow rising in silent demand for more information. Charis grinned, shaking her head. "We heard some rather distressing gossip in town today. It seems a crow is wooing our little hawkling."

Zane nodded. "Ah, yes, I'd heard."

Gregory, for all his self-absorption, caught that. He whirled to face his elder brother, looking like he had swallowed bitter medicine.

"You… 'Heard about it?'" Gregory's tone indicated his disgust, while he sarcastically made air-quotes.

Zane grinned broadly, waving a little. "Ah, hello there, Brother! Fancy seeing you here, did you enjoy the shopping trip?"

"Zane!"

"Gregory!" the Arami intoned back, in a mockery of the impatience leaking from his younger brothers' voice.

Charis bit her lip from smiling too obviously. She busied herself with picking up the packages. For all the seriousness of her elder son, Zane had one favorite activity that never got old to him; teasing his younger siblings.

When Gregory crossed his arms, Zane relented with a chuckle, rolling to his feet. "Yes, I heard. It is why I stayed behind today, in fact. I wanted to see how the two reacted with each other."

"And?" The question was asked by both Gregory and Charis. Zane raised both his brows and spread his hands.

"You both are interested?"

"Stop stalling!" Gregory lashed his hand through the air while his other found purchase on his thin hip.

"Well, honestly, I haven't much to tell." Zane finally returned to being serious. "The crow's name is Cole, if you were curious. Apparently, he was Nacola Shardae's choice as Hannah's Alistair."

Zane crossed to stand in front of his brother, bringing him into a hug that Gregory stiffly returned. He was too worked up but all the Cobriana line had learned never to refuse family. They never knew which battlefield would be their graves, after all.

"I'm not worried," Zane murmured.

Gregory focused on the warmth from his brother as his hands fell to the side. They were of similar height to each other, similar in appearance. The differences were the level of responsibility the other had and natural tastes. Gregory had always been more flamboyant and far vainer. Zane was calmer and he did not play games with just anyone. He was also, in a way, less honest, because he would always try to shield his family, rather than share the burdens of ruling.

"Liar," he muttered.

Zane released him and his look now was somber. "I believe Hannah knows this is a sound plan. If peace could be achieved without a marriage… I would take it. I don't want to sacrifice you to this, but also I do not want to sacrifice you to blood and war."

Gregory tilted his head and huffed, smiling. "Well, I know what needs done."

Charis cleared her throat and Gregory turned a little, his mouth smiling when he saw what she held aloft. He took it with a flourish.

"Ah, just what I was looking for. Thank you, mother." He kissed her cheek softly before he stepped away and grinned.

Charis nodded. "Well, I'm off to tea with the Disa."

Zane blinked. "You two certainly are growing close."

"Ah, well, we both have troublesome sons, so you know… Oh, I'm only kidding!" Charis laughed at their pouty looks. Then she grinned slyly. "About the sons only, though. She has troublesome _daughters_!"

With another dainty laugh, she skipped out the door. Both the Cobriana eyed the tent flap she had vanished through silently for a moment.

"She was quite proud of that one," Zane commented.

"She would be."

Gregory sighed tiredly and spun away with his eyes on the package he held. Zane turned with him to watch as his younger brother sank into the pillows, a little irked when his own pillow bed became disrupted from the movement.

"Now then, now that Mother is gone, maybe we can talk frankly."

Gregory dropped his arm over his eyes instead, groaning. Zane was swift then. He plucked the box from the lax grip and dropped onto his stomach.

"Another gift for Hannah? And this one feels much too light to be a book."

Gregory peeked one eye out. "I have to win her somehow."

Zane hummed a little in thought. "And you think gifts will charm her? Really, Brother, this is a coldly calculating side I never knew you had."

"I bought Althea gifts as well, daily, if you recall." Gregory rolled and made a swipe for the present but Zane was quicker.

"You loved her. And you perused her with single-minded determination, as I recall. However, this is hardly the case. Or do you claim to love the hawk now?"

"… No."

Gregory drew up images of Althea in his mind, holding her in his arms and dancing closely, so close they were nearly one. He knew everything about her mood in a simple glance, whereas Hannah was closed off and impossible. Althea was everything to him and he believed it would be that way forever. Even now, he felt his heart sting and stutter when he recalled she was gone, felt the same emptiness glaring out from inside of him.

"And do you still intend to make her love you?" Zane got a little harsher here, he didn't agree with this plan at all.

Gregory tsked. "Yes and no. I just… I… No, _we_ need this to work Zane. I can't have her messing up. No matter what boasts you and I make to her and her family, we can't really protect her from the whole population if they know she and I aren't happy together."

Zane sighed, knowing that was more than true. Still, he had to ask. "Then why not just be happy with her?"

Gregory propped his chin on his hand. "She's a hawk."

"'She's a hawk', isn't good enough. She is not just her second form, Gregory; she is also a human woman. With all the hopes and desires of one, I am sure. I'm not saying you have to love her but you both can be content… happy."

"If our people heard you now, they'd be scandalized." Gregory clicked his tongue. "I am trying, Zane. I cannot hate her and that… I don't like. I hate her people for all the blood they have shed of mine but her; in specific… she is like a child almost, so stifled in everything. I don't understand her. I can't even tell if she is doing this because she wants the war to end for herself, or because she's carrying her sisters desire inside."

"It is always easier to hate when you deal with a whole race. It gets harder when faced with an individual person, with thoughts and feelings." Zane dropped the package onto Gregory's stomach.

"That's disgustingly true," Gregory agreed mildly. "I do still hate her, in a way. I forget, at times, what she is, but then it hits me. She does something, shields herself more or I look into those gold pools she has for eyes and just know it… someone from her side killed off my family. And I wonder, did she cheer? Was she glad for the Cobriana blood that her people spilt? How do I get past those questions, Brother mine, to be 'content' or 'happy' with her?"

Zane didn't have a good answer for that. "We all need to start somewhere, Gregory. We cannot cling to the past. Use it, by all means, to climb farther than you are now, but don't become bound to it."

Gregory smiled, clutching the present. "I know."

He rolled to his feet easily, a smile already adorning his confident features. "Well, I'm prepared to tear down every mask she has. That's the only way I'll have peace, you see."

"That might be an impossible task you set yourself," Zane commented.

"They always are, darling brother." He turned to go with a flourish, flipping the tent flap open. "Don't sleep too much longer or you'll grow cobwebs in that empty head of yours."

Zane snorted. "Hmm, siblings… if anyone needs to clear cobwebs it is you, Gregory. Before you break everything you reach for." The words were muttered as the elder cobra shifted, yawning.

He rolled back onto his pillows and sighed. Truthfully, he hadn't really slept at all and both his family members knew it. Zane might have had the appearance of someone well rested, but he had been up, pouring over the letters his spies had sent him and the news from his palace guards. With the distraction of his family out of the way, he dug them back out of his cozy spot and flicked through them.

For a time, it was the only noise in the room, as he scripted out replies and sealed them with his obsidian ring. While he worked, his thoughts drifted to the hawk family who held his and their future literally in their unknowing hands. Zane knew only one thing. He liked Hannah well enough, would enjoy having her as a sister-in-law. Nevertheless, if her head was turned and she clung instead to Avian norms or her sister refused the deal all together… Zane intended the war to be over within a week of that altering decision, by marriage or blood.

End chapter

 _ **Author note:**_ Oh, does the Cobriana have anything to worry about or are they just being fussy? And, no Hannah here, or moments between Hannah and Gregory, but next chapter! Oh, mah goodness next chapter! See you there, since it is posted right after this one. Enjoy!


	9. Chapter 9

Author note: Hello, dear readers! I hope you are enjoying this humble work, because I know I am enjoying writing it. I find myself thinking about it at the most… inopportune moments, thinking up scenes, watching Hannah and Gregory interact in my head. It is so bad~!

Disclaimer: I own this story, but make no profit. And I own the OC's. However, I don't own Kiesha'ra series.

Chapter start

It was strange how used she had gotten to not having guards trailing like shadows. Hannah surmised it was a horrible thought, to wish them gone. After all, they were all Royal Flight, and therefore her safety was their number one priority. Especially when so close to the 'enemy'.

She admitted to some happiness at the arrival of Cole. He had been in the same training group as Varik, and so she knew him better than she knew some of the others. He had been Varik's closest confidant, and they were similar in attitude. Talking with him almost brought him back to her, a small and guilt-ridden joy.

Cole had been chosen as her closest personal guard until Andreios arrived with her sister and brother-in-law. She was not dumb, however. She was aware that he had been one of the Avians Nacola considered for her new Alistair. Since he wasn't making any overtures or hinting it however, she imagined her mother must have passed him over.

A good thing too, seeing as she had found her own. It wasn't as if she could announce that, though. Her eyes shifted to him, seeing him standing at ever-ready attention. It caused a frown to grace her lips. She had been around Zane and Gregory, knew from their words they were trained soldiers, and most probably could, handle a duel between the Royal Flight. Yet they never were so outwardly prepared to leap into the fray.

It wasn't to say they were unobservant. Hannah knew that was far from the case. She wondered briefly if it was because of the difference in secondary forms. A snake never seemed to look like it was about to strike, after all.

"Cole, you can relax a little," Hannah said suddenly. She wasn't sure why she did it. The silence was just so… stifling, somehow. His eyes shifted to her and she breathed in. "We are in Mistari lands still. Nothing will happen."

His eyes were heavy on her, enough to cause her pulse to quicken. She shoved the reaction away.

"I would rather not take the chance, my lady. This lake is far enough away that anything could happen."

"Such as?" Hannah cocked a brow.

Cole hummed. "You could suddenly feel faint and fall in the lake, or suffer heatstroke. If a sudden storm came in, you could be trapped out here, unable to shift and fly to safety. Many things."

"I've only heard of an avian woman fainting when she is _indisposed_." She couldn't help the chuckle that slipped from her lips. "And, while we are in a desert canyon, the sun is pleasant enough, and the only clouds to be seen are white and fluffy."

Cole grimaced at her, though the corner of his lips twitched. "I am being overbearing, aren't I?"

"Only a little. I fear you've been spending far too much time with Andreios."

"I shall take that as compliments."

Hannah hummed, moving away to sit on the fallen log. It was in this position that Gregory came to find the two in. Hannah sat with her back straight as an arrow, hands clasped gently in her lap, eyes fixed on the placid water before her.

The guard stood closely behind her. It was annoying to compare them together. Hannah seemed so fragile when looking at her, as though any pressure would crack her irreparably. Moreover, the guard, Cole, seemed so put together and prepared for it, as though his only service in life was to put her together again should she fall.

He hummed lowly, making the move to dismount from his horse. "You two seem awfully cozy."

Hannah turned her head to look at him, whereas Cole merely closed his eyes.

"Gregory." The hawk's voice was cool and even. "I haven't seen much of you the past few days."

Oh, he wanted badly to retort that it was her own fault. She had been the one to withdraw from him and his family at the arrival of her guards. Like a deck of cards, she had folded back into the neat and tidy little Avian who didn't associate willingly with his kind.

Her gold eyes studied him briefly. He had to imagine the brief flicker of undefined emotion that passed. Then she was blinking and it was gone.

"Cole, leave us."

"My lady, with all due respect-"

"Cole! I am not asking you." She held her gaze locked steadily with his and the crow took a breath.

"You have changed, My Lady." It seemed to have a resigned tone to it, and his eyes held pain. "You aren't the same little hawkling who trailed Varik and I like shadows, or sought out our company for peace."

"I'm sorry," she murmured. Gregory knew now she wasn't faking the pained grimace on her face. He filed it away, noting the questions to ask.

Nevertheless, Cole merely smiled; suddenly dropping the avian cloak around him, and Gregory nearly recoiled. Love pooled from the crow, it leaked from his eyes almost. Yet there he was, so accepting and even willing.

"I'm not complaining. I merely pray for your happiness." Then Cole turned away, stepping forward to Gregory who watched with caution.

The crow reached out a hand, meeting Gregory's mount. The black gelding whickered softly, pressing into the warm hand as it rubbed its forehead.

"A fine beast," he commented.

"Thank you. Do you know horses well?" Gregory was polite, if nothing else.

Cole shook his head. "Not particularly. Avians have no need for them. Not for riding at least."

"For what, then?"

Cole fixed him with a stern look. "You are truly curious, aren't you, about our cultures and actions… why?"

Gregory raised a brow, languidly shrugging and crossing his arms. His eyes shifted to Hannah. She had turned back to the lake, perhaps a bit _too_ trusting of the idea they wouldn't kill each other.

"It is part of her." He answered after a moment. "The least I can do is learn the woman who will be my Naga."

"Huh. At the least, you both seem vested in this. I confess, I cannot quite picture it. You and My Lady. However, she is stubborn, so… I suppose she shall have her way."

The crow left finally, shifting before arcing into the skies, his wings beating fast as they found a wind current.

Gregory rustled into his pack a moment, coming up with the box he had purchased earlier. Once he had it, secure he went to stand behind the Hawk; pleased she didn't tense or react negatively. Progress, at last.

"So, here you are. I was starting to think you hated us all."

Hannah felt his legs press into her back, knew her head was near his stomach. She had gotten used to his nearness knowing it would be constant when they were in the serpiente courts. Her initial reaction was to tense, but she quickly suppressed it. It wasn't until Hannah felt a foreign object drop around her neck did she shift. As she felt deft fingers at her neck, she glanced down.

Nestled against her bosom lay a single pure white crystal, the chain a thick black material that felt supple between her fingers.

"Do you like it?" the serpiente asked casually, moving to drop beside her.

Hannah lifted the crystal, moving it side to side. Her head tilted and she regarded him. "It is lovely. But why?"

Gregory hummed. "Well, I don't claim to know you well. But I have noticed you prefer simpler things. This one screamed your name."

Hannah blinked at him owlishly. "That isn't what I meant."

"Women, be it avian or serpiente, seem obsessed with knowing everything."

"Gregory," Hannah sighed his name. The frustration in her voice nearly made him smirk but he controlled it.

"I'm merely giving my Naga a gift, is that a crime?" He held his hands out before him, blinking innocently.

"Coming from you? It most certainly could be."

He pressed a hand to his chest. "Ah, I'm offended you would think such a thing!"

"Has anyone ever told you they'd like to slap you?"

"Would that be appropriate behavior for an avian woman?" Gregory widened his eyes.

Hannah narrowed hers. "You are simply impossible."

"But I'm irresistible as well, so it evens out."

The hawk merely scoffed, but Gregory caught the faint amusement in the golden orbs blinking at him.

It was only three short days later that the call went out through the Mistari lands. The Avian Tuuli-Thea and her guards had been spotted.

Hannah had paled briefly. Nerves clutched like icy tendrils down her spine, confusion hitting her. She was nervous to meet her own sister and liege.

Despite her misgivings, she quickly prepared.

The three serpientes had been playfully speaking and laughing when the news reached them. As one, they exchanged grim looks. Zane took a deep, fortifying breath.

"Well, I suppose we should go meet them, no?"

Charis plucked nervously at the many bracelets clinking together on her wrists. By now, they had all migrated to the Mistari Disa and Dio's meeting room, once again seated on the opulent cushions.

The two tigers were languidly sitting upon their dais. Gregory cast a glance over to Hannah, seated between her guards, looking prim and proper. Then the curtains were pushed aside and in entered even more soulless beings.

Danica Shardae had not the looks of Hannah Shardae. The only way they would be connected as blood was the obvious golden coloring to their hair and eyes. Hannah had a more delicate bone structure, her face a little less rounded. Danica was also a few inches taller, her hair kept back in a strict looking bun, whereas Hannah often wore hers partially down or braided.

Even the walks were different. Danica walked like a soldier.

Behind her was a man of chestnut hair and lean muscle. His gaze swept the hall, making note of every single nuance there was, from the serpiente and how far they were from his mate, to the myriad cracks along the mostly smoothed walls.

Danica looked once at her sister before she paused before the Disa and Dio. She did not bow.

Zane recognized the position she stood in, as it was shared in the two males and female with her, and he had seen the guards Hannah had assuming it. It was a soldier's stance, an odd thing for a leader to assume. He wondered briefly if this was the reason, she was more suited to rule than Hannah, this drilling that she was a soldier as well as a diplomat.

She did nod respectfully. "I must thank you for watching out for my younger sister."

The Disa leaned back, rolling her shoulders. "It was hardly a trouble. Welcome to the Mistari lands, Danica Shardae."

The hawk nodded sharply before she turned on her heel. Hannah and the guards at her side had risen to their feet. The two locked eyes and the hall watched as the sisters stood before each other.

"You are truly unharmed?" Danica reached out her hand and Hannah automatically moved to take it, the guards on either side bowing stiffly to the noble hawks.

Zane and Gregory exchanged looks, faint amusement and derision in how stiff and formal the Avians truly were, reflected in their eyes.

Hannah reached up to take Danica's other hand, nodding once. "I am well, sister."

It was then they all saw it. Relief pooled onto the avian leaders face and she released a huff of a breath. Without warning, she tugged Hannah closer, ensconcing the younger and shorter girl into a tight hug.

"Thank goodness. I have been wrestling with myself for these weeks, wondering if I had done the correct thing, leaving you here with so few guards."

Hannah had stiffened at the frontal assault, obviously unsure what to do with her hands. Gregory could have snorted with laughter, had Charis not smacked the back of his head, so he turned it into a cough instead.

Finally, the hawk pulled away, smiling slightly. "Varik, it's good to see you."

The male nodded. "I'm glad you are unharmed, Hannah."

It took a few moments but finally the Avians resettled, Danica taking a spot next to Hannah, and Andreios reclaiming the spot next to her, pushing Cole down farther.

Danica cleared her throat. "To business, then. I ask to be told which serpiente I am expected to give my blood to."

Gregory sighed, shifting so his arm rested outstretched on his propped leg. "That would be me."

Danica studied him against his counterpart. They looked very similar as blood brothers went, but the one who had spoken seemed far more eye-catching, if only for his accessories and clothing.

He had emeralds glistening from his ears and an amulet hung low down his chest. He obviously favored the colors black and white, with an emerald colored scarf wound around his waist.

In normal circumstance, she would have never let him anywhere near her sister. He was not anything like what she would approve of. Danica flickered her gaze to Hannah however, and admitted they would make a decent pair standing together, side by side. At the least, he looked as though he could handle himself well, and intelligence was in the crimson orbs.

"And you are…?"

"Gregory Cobriana. Pleasure to meet you, I'm sure." His voice was confident and lilting, the kind that would make many women swoon. It did nothing for Danica.

Danica merely hummed, her gaze flicking to the other cobra, who must surely be Zane.

"And so, by marriage this war will be over." Her voice was firm. "But what reassurance do I have you won't sink your fangs into her the moment she is in your lands? Or allow another serpiente to do it?"

Gregory felt Zane tense up, though his face remained pleasant. "The whole point in this is to end the war. Killing Hannah wouldn't do much for that cause."

Danica scoffed. "Wouldn't it, though? I would be the only remaining hawk, besides our mother."

"A hawk who would remain safe in her keep, therefore untouchable by us." Gregory shrugged his shoulders.

Zane cleared his throat. "The pros to this marriage working are far greater than the ones gained by such an unhanded manner. Hannah will be safe with us, I assure you."

"You would choose to protect her over your people, should they try and harm her?" Danica pushed the points she found important.

Zane hesitated briefly, his eyes flickering to Hannah, who sat tall beside her sister. Gregory, however, did not.

"I would."

All eyes turned to him. He shifted, his head tilting to the side. A small smirk was on his face as he regarded her. Then he looked at Hannah, glancing between them.

"Serpientes are showy creatures, as I'm sure you aren't aware. We are passionate and raw, but we are also protective. Hannah would be my responsibility first, as my Naga. It wouldn't be in my nature, to let the woman with that title be harmed."

Hannah was regarding him steadily. He winked at her and she blinked, exchanging a glance with Danica. They both knew, neither hawk would mean much if the Avians went after Gregory. Yet here he was, claiming before all he would keep her safe.

Danica sighed. She did not want to do this. Every fiber of her instinct, sisterly and as a leader, were rebelling against this. There were too many loopholes, far too much risk. Yet… yet…

Peace was worth everything to her. The idea of her children never having to fight. The dream that the avian people could flourish again without battles a constant loom in their day-to-day lives.

Her eyes shifted to look at Hannah, who had resumed her study of her pair bond to be. The serpiente who would be her Alistair. Danica inwardly winced at the thought. The two terms were not pleasant sounding in her ear. A serpiente Alistair. And an Avian hawk as a Naga.

She took a deep breath. "I have conditions."

"Of course you do," Zane muttered, not without courtesy in his tone.

"I assume you don't want Gregory living in the keep, with us."

Zane narrowed his eyes. "It hadn't crossed my mind. The serpiente palace is a lovely place to live-"

"For serpientes." Danica cut clean across. "Why should Hannah make all the sacrifices?"

"I would say they are both making sacrifices, Danica," Zane returned smoothly.

"Indeed. All I ask is a trade-off. We shall start with every two weeks, until I am surer of Hannah not being in the keep."

"You really don't trust us to keep her safe," Zane said amusedly.

Danica merely cocked a brow at him. "And she would, of course, take members of the Royal Flight with her. Varik has already decided which members would be more appropriate to not cause any… unwanted skirmishes."

The male beside her nodded his head. "And of course, we would make provisions for any guard you'd like to send with your brother, while he resides in the keep."

Charis snorted. "How very kind of you."

"And would he be one of the "trusted guards" meant to protect Hannah from us big, bad serpiente?" Gregory nodded to Cole who scowled at the implied insult he read there. Danica, however, saw the dislike on the serpientes face and filed it away for later.

"Perhaps."

"Anything else?" Zane asked.

"… Hannah, is this truly alright with you?" Danica turned to her sister. The younger hawk returned the look steadily enough, her brows furrowed.

"We've come this far. I… trust them, Danica." The words weren't easy to say, that much was clear to all present. "If I didn't I would tell you."

Quietly, so the serpiente and tigers wouldn't hear, Danica asked a question that worried her. "Would you really?

Hannah swallowed, and then she nodded. "Yes, of course. Our people need this, Danica. Both of our peoples." Her voice was just as quiet. "I don't want us to turn into mother. And I do not want to see my nieces and nephew die, or my own children… If I have any."

That brought up another unpleasant thought. "Has the serpiente been cordial to you?"

Hannah blinked, thinking that, by avian standards no, he had not. He had tapped her beak, had used her lap as a pillow, and had poked fun at her enough times to have her nearly spitting behind a calm yet cracking mask. He had made it clear in a speech he hated her, yet then had went out of his way to see to her comfort and had provided her with trinkets meant to make her happy.

She knew from Charis that things were very different in the serpiente world. Children were not betrothed from birth and stifled; they didn't learn to compartmentalize their emotions.

They were allowed to court who they wanted, and if it fell apart, it didn't shame them, or their families. She also knew a serpiente never bonded unless they were deeply and irrevocably in love with one another. She and Gregory were abnormal, but they couldn't let that be known. Before the serpiente people, they had to seem in love, or else the whole plan could go to rot.

Still, Hannah smiled. "Yes, he's been far better than I anticipated. Not at all a savage. Trust me, Danica."

Danica nodded, and then she turned to the Disa and Dio. "You've been watching them the whole time. Has this a chance of truly working?"

The Disa smiled kindly. "You don't want to put your blood in any danger. We understand that well. If, for any second, we doubted this union, we would caution you."

Danica shifted her eyes to the floor then. "If this is truly the only way… so long as my terms are met then… I will name you my sisters Alistair."

End chapter

Author note: Another one done! Woo-hoo!


	10. Chapter 10

**Author note:** Hello, all!

 **Disclaimer** : I own this story and my OC, not the series in general.

* * *

Chapter start

Danica stood beside Varik with thinly concealed anxiety. The weather was perfect for a long flight, and both the hawks were eager to be on their way, though they went in separate directions. Behind them the serpiente were preparing their horses. Charis had kindly offered to share with Hannah, who inwardly bristled at the thought she wouldn't be allowed to fly.

Gregory had seen the look and cocked a brow, tapping her on the head with his palm. "When we near the palace grounds, you won't be able to just fly through. Birds, especially hawks, are scrutinized heavily and killed on sight."

"That's barbaric," Danica muttered. She had turned as well to look at them. Her eyes were tormented.

It was harder than she thought to see her kin off. This time knowing what waited at the end of the journey. For Danica, it was a return to all familiar things, and the responsibility to tell her people the war was ended through sacrifice. For Hannah, it was to what the elder sister imagined a barbaric place filled with fear and misery.

Hannah didn't seem perturbed. She spoke softly to Gregory, who didn't seem as though he were giving his full attention to her. His eyes were on the black beast before him as he stroked its dark mane and checked it over.

Zane answered her very simply indeed. "If a cobra slithered near your keep, would you say you wouldn't kill it on sight?"

Her brow cocked haughtily. "It is completely different. A cobra would be very suspicious, if found in a clearing with trees surrounding it. A hawk however is to be found wherever there is sky."

The only plus to this was Danica was able to send both Andreios and Cole with Hannah. Andreios was strong, as was Cole. She prayed nothing happened, though if it did she knew the two crows would be prepared to protect her sister at all costs.

Gregory had spoken with finality in his tone that brooked no argument when he said it would be his duty to protect Hannah after they had mated before the crowd. The ceremony would then be repeated in avian style, two weeks later. The keep and palace were within a few paltry days of each other, thankfully.

Danica didn't announce it but she planned to have heavy patrols on the borders, in case things went wrong and Hannah fled.

Finally, it was time to be off. The Disa stepped forward and kissed Hannah on the cheek, before turning to Danica. "You are being very brave, Tuuli Thea. Have faith that this will work."

Danica knew her eyes were piercing. "If it does not, my kin is lost. There can be no greater thing, at this point. You ask for my faith… yet all I can do is mourn already for the future I see."

"Shardae," Varik muttered suddenly. "Why do we not simply take Hannah home then? Cole will become her Alistair, he already agreed."

Danica flicked an impatient and dismissive hand, her eyes on the Disa. The tiger's eyes were calm and gentle, yet filled with wisdom. Danica tried to take strength from them, that this course was correct. She thrust her inner turmoil aside almost desperately but she had little hope. She knew her dreams would be filled with these nightmares, these thoughts that plagued her ever since she agreed to this.

She would see Hannah dead in her dreams. And that broke her heart.

"Hannah, I would speak with you." A little later Danica called to her sister, who turned curiously.

She followed her sister sedately to a farther corner. Gregory closed his eyes when he saw it, the way the Tuuli Thea spoke with her hands to gesture in near desperation. Second thoughts were very obviously rupturing inside her.

"Less than two weeks now, old man. And you'll be a Nag." Zane slung his arm over his shoulder.

"A Nag and an Alistair. With a hawk," he muttered.

"A hawk you swore to protect over our people," Zane reminded him. There wasn't rancor in his voice but it flashed in his eyes, a little question there.

"What else was I to say? And I believe I would. The game has changed now, Zane. This isn't us sheltering a hawk until her sister takes the throne and is hopefully kinder in her outlook than Nacola was… is. This is that sister coming to us with her own demands for her sister's safety. Without those met, she would have tore Hannah out of here by her pin feathers!"

"I suppose you are right."

They set off not long after.

Upon the nearing of the palace, Zane whistled sharply to get the attention of the three circling birds above his riding party.

Two crows as dark as the night and one golden brown hawk with white underbelly. It had been unnerving to say the least, to see them above them after being lost in thought.

They descended swiftly, Hannah shifting to human form about a foot from the ground. She landed on her feet with ease. One crow landed without any ceremony, shifting to reveal Andreios, looking slightly sick with his charge. The other crow had folded his wings and plummeted to the ground, turning to human form with only a few inches to spare.

Gregory was rather disappointed he didn't snap his neck, before brushing the thought aside and dismounting.

Andreios was scolding them both. "You could break your necks doing tricks like that."

Cole and Hannah exchanged a glance filled with amusement. The crow however deferred to his commander. "I'm sorry, sir."

Andreios looked at Hannah. "Shardae?"

Hannah gave him an exasperated look. "Oh, come now! You only take that tone when you are trying not to be amused. But you only say my surname when you are annoyed. You can't use both at once, that isn't even right."

Andreios raised a brow archly. "It became my right when the Tuuli Thea entrusted you to my care. I doubt she intended for you to break your fool neck."

As if the words were ice, Hannah closed off. Gregory was mildly annoyed at it. Hannah had looked happy and for a brief moment, like a mere girl and not a hawk he had once sworn to kill. Now she was back to being reserved and formal.

He didn't quite like how much control Cole and Andreios, or the Royal Flight in general, had over Hannah. Why had the hawks surrendered so much control to their personal guards?

He threw on a cocky face and laughed. "I found it amazing myself; wouldn't you agree Zane, Mother?"

Zane tossed him a look that said very clearly that he knew what his younger brother was about. Charis however smiled. "I'm amazed at it, myself. I could never be so daring to just let total control go and fall."

Hannah relaxed a little in their approval. Gregory smiled with unknown softness and stood before her. He unfurled a cloak and tossed it over her, going so far as to tie the strings and pull the hood up over her golden locks, securing it tightly. Cole seemed tense, and Gregory exchanged a briefly sly look with him.

He spoke as he worked on making sure Hannah was secured. "You two should be fine, seeing as your hair and eyes aren't golden. But Hannah we will have to hide until after tomorrow."

"We'll be busy I'm afraid, preparing the feast and ceremony to announce her as Gregory's Naga." Zane gave her a look. "I'm sorry, but I'll have to ask you and your guards to remain in your rooms until after that. But Irene will keep you company."

Hannah was prepared to nod, if only Gregory's long fingers weren't still tugging on the cloak hood. Andreios was quick to speak.

"In fact, we had intended to stand guard outside Shardae's door."

Zane looked at him calmly, though his eyes burned. "That won't be possible."

"Why not?" Cole turned dangerous in an instant, coming to stand by Hannah. Gregory felt a slow smile bleed onto his lips.

Charis felt the tension of males gearing up to fight. Hannah did as well, but she was merely standing there, her gold eyes flickering to and from Gregory and Cole, brows furrowed.

She cleared her throat. "Might I speak? It will not be possible because it would look far too suspicious. All the guards and palace workers know where the royal family sleeps, which is where we will be stationing her, with rooms that interlock with my daughter Irene's. Guards positioned at her doors would bring far too much attention to the fact there is something we don't wish to be seen yet."

Andreios thought this over and agreed silently that it would be odd. Yet, Cole couldn't give up so easily. "Then we can guard her within her rooms."

Charis was quick to cut him clean off. "Would that be appropriate? While serpientes are more apt to take a lover, you surely realize that is the conclusion that would be made on Hannah should anyone see you three together, and remember it after the ceremony."

"Enough," Hannah said suddenly. The words by Charis had spurned her on. "I'll be fine. I have met Irene before and she seems lovely."

"Hannah!" Cole protested.

"I trust them, Cole, and you need to as well." She rounded on the crow that stood stone faced. Andreios merely looked grim. "We all need to trust for this to work."

Things went smoothly after that. Gregory remounted his horse, pulling Hannah in front of him, and pushing closely against her. She stiffened at the oddness of being body to body with him and leaned forward a little. A knowing smile spread on his cheeks and he leaned to whisper in her ear.

"Feeling alright, Hannah? I wouldn't want the cloak to fall off and reveal just what the Cobriana line is bringing into the cities midst."

"Perfectly fine," Hannah said with forced sweetness.

They continued on after Andreios and Cole were given mounts. The horses obviously knew they were close to home for they picked up the pace, seeming to brim with the knowledge they were near to their stables. The speed quickened almost imperceptibly.

They ran into a border patrol, which Zane dealt with swiftly. Then the heavy gates were opening and Hannah had her first view of the serpiente markets. Noise assaulted her, chatter everywhere, and further off the beat of drums and a myriad of other instruments.

Color was bleeding everywhere as well. The serpiente truly were a showy people, as Gregory had said. Women and men dressed in jewel colored cloth, with scarves and flashing jewelry. Women with toned skin revealed by dresses designed to be enticing to the male eyes.

Even the children were noisy here, running around in groups. Scents distorted the air and Hannah was made aware of the fact serpientes were not vegetarians. The meat smelled divine but Hannah rejected the temptation. The only meat the Avians ate was the occasional fish or rabbit. Hannah herself existed on a diet of mostly fruit, bread, and cheese.

Gregory leaned down again. "What do you think?"

Hannah blinked a few more times, trying to make sense of the almost orderly chaos of the place. Already, though it be her first look, she sensed that she wouldn't have imagined the serpiente courts any other way. It would be odd to see this place empty.

"It's very lively." It was a safe answer and Gregory grunted, steering his horse expertly through the crowds.

A few serpientes called out to the returning royal family, some even being so daring as to pat at the horses, which must have been used to such for they didn't shy at all.

"Gregory!"

A woman appeared, forcing Gregory to tug on the reigns of his horse before it trampled her. Hannah noted the white and gold ensemble she wore, the way it clung tightly to the muscled skin. A turn of her body and her hips would be plain to see, her breasts spilling from the barely there top she had. Her arms were bare except for the wispiest of see-through scarves, which Hannah noted connected to her dress near the hips if she let it flutter from her pale arms.

Her aquamarine eyes sparkled, and her wild mane of chestnut curls bounced with her every move.

Gregory let go of the reins with one hand, placing it on Hannah's stomach almost absentmindedly. "Hello there, Serena. Come to dance at market?"

The girl laughed with her very being, seeming to swell with energy and daring. Something Hannah found alarming and yet intriguing. This woman seemed to have no morals. When she noted the eyes look at her, she dropped her gaze, shifting backwards into Gregory who tightened his grip.

The woman turned a little too sultry for Hannah's tastes. A small laugh escaped her lips. "Yes, and now I have found my perfect partner. It's been so dreadfully boring since you ran off to that peace meeting."

"You mean me? Sorry, I have things to do." Gregory said it politely.

"Hmm? Surely, you aren't too busy to spare a dance with an old friend. I'm sure your muscles are screaming to let loose, being around boring birds for so long."

A thought seemed to occur to her. "You met the youngest didn't you? What was she like? I must confess I haven't ever seen a hawk before. They say that the hawks are pretty as a jewel, but cold as stone, is it true? You must tell me everything."

Hannah knew she was soon going to lose her composure. The woman was now leaning forward, her long fingers gripping onto Gregory's thigh with possession. Gregory merely laughed.

"I have things to do. But later, perhaps…" He trailed off purposefully and the woman smiled slyly. "I'll see you at Sha'Mehay."

"Of course, Prince Gregory!" She simpered it playfully and he laughed.

He watched Serena dart swiftly through the crowds and leap elegantly onto a dais. Her hips caught the wild beat the drums were playing almost instantly. The cloth she used as a scarf fluttered around her as she dipped and turned, every move fluid. It wasn't a sacred dance, but rather one she invented in those very seconds, letting her body naturally guide her.

A wave of longing hit him, to be able to move so freely. But he had a job currently and he sighed, promising himself that he would visit Sha'Mehay later and find a partner there for some fun. Perhaps not Serena herself, probably Aisha. He needed to speak with her anyway.

They made it through the rest of the crows without incident, the horses being safely stowed away. Gregory gripped the hawk around her waist to lift her from the horse, again noting the complete lack of real weight she had.

"You seem tense, my darling," he said mockingly.

Hannah merely clicked her tongue and made to follow Zane. Charis had already ushered the two other Avians in their party ahead. They waited anxiously inside the palace, waiting for Hannah to appear.

Gregory grabbed her wrist casually however, halting her. He swiftly pulled her back into the stables and against the horse they'd been riding. The beast only whickered in curiosity before returning to munch on the hay it now had access to.

"What?" Her voice was harsh, but she knew it had to merely be the stress of this whole ordeal.

Gregory however had another idea. It was one that made him smug and fill with laughter. "Jealousy is certainly adorable on you."

"Jealousy." Hannah repeated dryly, her brow cocking. "You really do have a huge head, don't you?"

"Merely calling it as I see it. What catches my attention though is a question. Are you jealous of the attention she showed me, as I suppose would be your right, or are you jealous to see just how free a woman can be, knowing a frigid bird like you could never hope to copy her?"

Her hand moved of its own accord, cracking across his cheek with purpose. It didn't do much damage but he clenched his jaw and grasped the fingers of her hand tightly to prevent another attack.

Too much stress, far too much mocking on his part, had frayed the tight leash Hannah kept around herself. Gregory infuriated her. In those seconds, she came close to hatred, as her palm striking across his pale cheek made a satisfying clap of noise. Gregory watched from the corner of his eye as she raged, and then it all vanished, that damnable emptiness surrounding her and her face closing off.

"You're disgusting. You call that display womanly? I call it a desperate plea for attention. As for jealousy, you delude yourself. I am a hawk, a Shardae by birth. I would never be lowered to such a pathetic existence as to be jealous of such a shameless display."

He hummed. "Yet you say nothing of being jealous she paid me attention?"

Hannah faltered for a brief moment but then she let her prideful scorn lead her again. She wrenched away. "I didn't. Because, despite the fact I never would have chosen it myself, I am to be yours. And I refuse to be shamed in public. Unless of course, it is acceptable to keep paramours on the side after a serpiente is mated. Just remember to drop that thought when in my home."

Gregory now grits his teeth, and she saw she had hit a sore spot. "Keep in mind serpientes mate for life, and for nothing less than love."

"But we aren't. And I doubt ever will be."

"And why ever not," he asked in boredom.

Hannah folded her hands before her. "You said yourself you hated me. I'm not going to try to change that."

"Things change," he muttered to himself, and Hannah luckily didn't catch it.

But had they? He certainly enjoyed baiting the hawk, which was what this was all about anyway. And he could admit he was softer on her. He didn't hate her, but he still knew he didn't love her either.

Hannah had kept speaking and he focused on her again. "- I know we have a lot to work out. We are very different, you an I, as are our people. We will both have to make compromises. I don't know… how well I shall handle the things a serpiente male needs, so if a paramour makes that… easier on you than-"

Gregory smirked. It was obvious the hawk had taken the things Charis had said to heart and was now worried about how he would fare with a mate who couldn't sleep in the same chamber as him, let alone the same bed. He was tempted to take her to Sha'Mehay and let her believe that they would both be sleeping in the pile the dancers made on the floor. That would be amusing.

Without thought, he tugged Hannah forward, enclosing her in his arms. She halted her speech, her hands coming up on instinct to shove him away. Recalling the situation they merely, and with great hesitation, settled on his chest instead.

Gregory pressed a kiss to her ear, his breath warm there, making her shudder. He smiled. "What you suggest is something no male would do. As for the rest, this isn't so bad. We'll work out sleeping arrangements and the like between us, and come up with our own way. Does this hug make you uncomfortable, honestly?"

Hannah thought a moment and then let her body relax into the solid strength of his. "A little. Though I think it's mostly your breath on my neck… it's warm."

"As it should be, little hawk." Gregory pressed a kiss to her temple. "The rest will come. Believe that, Hannah."

End chapter

* * *

 **Author note:** ending with a little fluff. The next chapter we get into actually announcing Hannah and Gregory as mates, Hannah gets some advice from Irene, and Gregory deals with the dancers' guild and Aisha. Maybe even some more… jealousy! On which persons part though?


End file.
